Lisandro Martinez injury update issued by Argentina boss

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni has provided an update on Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez after he was forced to withdraw from international duty.

Martinez had reported to the Argentina camp for their World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru.

The 26-year-old had experienced a severe delay at an airport in Brazil with several other Premier League stars including Emiliano Martinez, Christian Romero, Enzo Fernandez and Facundo Buonanotte.

But when he finally arrived, Martinez was released by Argentina shortly after, with initial reports stating he was suffering from a hip problem.

Scaloni has admitted the Martinez's injury had been a surprise and explained the defender had in fact been suffering from back pain.

The pain is understood to have been caused after he suffered a blow during Man United's 3-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday.

'We didn't expect the case of Lisandro,' Scaloni said at a press conference.

'We saw that he had suffered a blow to his back, but apparently, he had no problem, just pain.

'When he arrived here, the pain increased a bit, he underwent tests and is not fit to be here.'

Martinez was absent as Argentina suffered defeat in their latest World Cup qualifier on Thursday.

Argentina were beaten 2-1 by Paraguay, with Antonio Sanabria and Omar Alderete on target for the hosts after Lautaro Martinez had opened the scoring for the world champions.

They remain top of South America’s World Cup qualifying standings despite the defeat, with Scaloni’s side having earned 22 points from 11 matches.

The world champions will aim to bounce back from the defeat when they face Peru at home on Tuesday.

Martinez will be aiming to return to full fitness ahead of Man United's next match against Ipswich, a week on Sunday.

The fixture will be the first under new Man United head coach Ruben Amorim.

Having arrived in Manchester from Portugal on Monday, Amorim was pictured talking to several players who are either recovering from injury or weren’t called up by their countries earlier this week.

Amorim had been seen speaking to the likes of Luke Shaw, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro and Toby Collyer at Carrington.

The 39-year-old was then given a tour of Old Trafford on Thursday, his first official visit to the stadium as Man United's head coach.