Anthony Martial will reportedly be absent for Manchester United's 2022-23 Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon due to injury.
The France international returned to Old Trafford earlier this summer after an unsuccessful loan spell at Sevilla in the second half of the 2021-22 campaign.
Martial was expected to be sold by the Red Devils ahead of the new season, but Cristiano Ronaldo's absence from the club's pre-season tour opened the door for the forward to impress.
The former Monaco youngster scored three times in four games during the tour, and he was set to start the campaign as Man United's centre-forward, with Ronaldo not yet up to speed in terms of fitness.
However, according to The Athletic, a hamstring problem will rule Martial out of the game with Brighton, which could lead to Ronaldo starting despite the fact that the Portuguese has only played one half of football during pre-season.
© Reuters
The report claims that Martial suffered the issue during Man United's pre-season friendly with Atletico Madrid last weekend, and it is currently unclear how long he will spend on the sidelines.
However, the 20-time English champions are allegedly confident that the 26-year-old will be fit for either next weekend's clash with Brentford or the fixture with Liverpool on August 22.
Martial impressed alongside Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford in a front free during the club's pre-season tour, and the trio had been in line to take to the field against Brighton.
"I hope we can convince them [the forwards] as they do a lot of work. A lot of running," Man United boss Erik ten Hag told MUTV earlier this summer when discussing his attackers. "Often you see offensive players, they miss, that is what they think, in the offence, the energy.
"But you can see they put a lot of energy in defence and they get rewarded by scoring goals because we are winning balls high on the pitch. No opponent likes to get beat on the press, in the defending line. I think it's a big advantage to do that, but you need the whole team."
© Reuters
Martial has represented Man United on 269 occasions since his arrival from Monaco in 2015, finding the back of the net 79 times in all competitions, in addition to contributing 50 assists.
The Frenchman impressed as a centre-forward during the 2019-20 campaign, scoring 23 goals and registering 12 assists in 48 outings, but he only netted once in the league in the first half of last term before joining Sevilla, who turned down the chance to sign him on a permanent basis.
Ronaldo will now come into Ten Hag's thinking for a starting role against Brighton despite the fact that he has only played 45 minutes of football during pre-season.
The Portugal international is still said to be pushing to leave Old Trafford before the end of the transfer window, but there is currently a lack of suitors for the 37-year-old.
Anthony Elanga is also an option to play alongside Rashford and Sancho in a front three, while Bruno Fernandes operated as a false nine at stages of the 2021-22 campaign.
