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Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has claimed he is very close to making a return for the club.

The Argentinian defender has been out of action with an injury since September suffered against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

The hard-tackling defender is set to make a return in January at a time when Man United need him the most.

He told the club’s media:

“I am really good, I am really good, honestly.

“My rehab is going amazingly, in the way that I want, I am feeling strong, doing everything right with Ibra [Ibrahim Kerem] the physio, he has been amazing.

“And also the medical department, they take care of me from day one so it was really important. Yeah, all is perfect for me.”

“Definitely, we need to be patient, we need to be patient,” he adds.

“I know that I will be back soon, very soon. It takes time, we need to be patient.

“It is tough, so tough, especially when you had two injuries, almost six or seven months, it is really, really tough. But I feel strong in my mind. I get really good values from my family, to never give up, so this has only made me even stronger. It is tough, so tough, but there are no excuses.”

The good news of Martinez’s return has brought some bad news for Erik ten Hag as well. Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat will be leaving the club for international duties at the Africa Cup of Nation.

Altay Bayindir will start in place of Onana but the Turkish goalkeeper is yet to make an appearance for the club.

ten Hag might step into the transfer window in January to make some reinforcements to his squad.

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