Michael Carrick skirted round the issue of whether Manchester United appealed against Lisandro Martinez's red card on Monday.
However, he was unequivocal in confirming the Argentina defender will miss the trip to Chelsea.
In fact, as Martinez's three-match ban for getting sent off for grabbing Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair in the Old Trafford defeat by Leeds also includes the home games with Brentford and Liverpool, it will be the 9 May trip to Sunderland before he can play again.
That will be three months since the game at West Ham, after which he suffered a calf injury. Given he didn’t play his first match of the season until the end of November following his recovery from cruciate surgery, it is a poor record and one that raises question marks over Martinez’s value to the current squad.
In fact, Martinez has just 73 Premier League appearances to his name in nearly four seasons at United.
As his contract runs out in 2027, United must soon decide whether to offer an extension. That kind of record will not count in his favour.
