Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has torn his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and will be sidelined for the rest of the season and beyond, according to a report in Argentina.

The combative defender pulled up in the second half of United’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon. Martinez was shielding the ball from Ismaila Sarr and planted his left foot in front of the visiting forward when his knee gave way. There was more than seven minutes of on-field treatment before Martinez was stretchered off. By then, he had broken into tears.

United head coach Ruben Amorim warned immediately after the full-time whistle that Martinez’s injury was “a serious situation”, but Argentine outlet TyC Sports now claim that the club have “confirmed” their player suffered a torn ACL.

While recoveries from ligament injuries can vary, players rarely return to action within nine months and can take up to a year – if not longer – to regain full fitness. Furthermore, studies have shown that you can be five times more likely to suffer an ACL injury if you have already damaged those ligaments.

At the start of the match which Martinez ended on a stretcher, United unveiled two defensive winter recruits in the form of Ayden Heaven and Patrick Dorgu. While the latter arrival from Lecce is expected to offer a natural option at left wing-back, Heaven could slot into the left-hand side of Amorim’s favoured back-three formation.

The former Arsenal teenager has no experience of Premier League football but was pointedly described as a signing for the first team at his unveiling.

Martinez missed 42 games across all competitions through various injuries last season, with former manager Erik ten Hag describing his centre-back’s absence as a “personal disaster”. It looks like the 27-year-old is facing an even more serious crisis this season.