Manchester United are reportedly set to be without Anthony Martial for this weekend’s FA Cup final, with the Frenchman seemingly having already played his last game for the club.
Erik ten Hag’s side will travel to the capital for a repeat of last season’s final, with the Red Devils hoping for a different outcome this time around.
Rivals Manchester City lifted the trophy, with Pep Guardiola’s outfit eyeing up yet another Premier League and cup double.
Irrespective of the result, it’s set to be a day of goodbyes for United, with manager Ten Hag reportedly on his way out.
The Guardian have reported that a decision on Ten Hag’s future has already been made and the Dutchman won’t be kept on for the 2024/25 season.
Ten Hag will likely wave goodbye to the United crowd following the full-time whistle, but as far as Martial is concerned, his farewell appears to have already come and gone.
The Manchester Evening News claim that Martial didn’t make the journey with the rest of his United team-mates, meaning he’s unlikely to be involved in the matchday squad for Saturday’s final.
And given Martial’s deal at Old Trafford is due to expire when the season finishes, it looks as if the 28-year-old’s final match in a red shirt will have come against Bournemouth in December.
He featured for 56 minutes in the 3-0 home defeat to the Cherries, with the 30-cap French international absent from every matchday squad since.
That’s despite having been back in training, with some mooting he could have been present in the travelling squad for the FA Cup final.
Martial is one of many United players to have suffered from injuries this season – something manager Ten Hag has bemoaned on several occasions.
Speaking earlier this month, the ex-Ajax boss said: “So huge, so many injury issues, so I trust all my experience, it can happen once in 10 years.
“Hopefully now I have to wait another 10 to have so many injuries to deal with.”
When asked about the state of his squad at the time, he continued: “That is one of the issues in constructing the squad where we have to improve, to do things better, to construct a squad where we have more depth.
“I think every manager wants players with winning attitudes, great mentality, big personalities to perform under stress.
“That is what every manager is looking for but, what the truth is, in this club it is extremely important to perform under stress.”
