by Erik ten Hag is patient with both Anthony Martial and Wout Weghorst.
Martial is once again sidelined by another injury, this time to his hip. He made just 14 appearances in all competitions for Manchester United this season and has yet to play a full game.
The Frenchman spent the second half of last season on loan at Sevilla but failed to impress, with another injury problem.
However, Ten Hag remains a fan of the 27-year-old, saying: “He’s not always available, but I also see the other side when he’s available. He was never 100 per cent this season, but he made a big impact every time he came. available, even if it’s at 80, 85, 90 percent.
“So we do everything and Anthony Martial does everything. I think Anthony Martial is the player who has spent the most hours at Carrington this season, to recover, to come back, it’s a real shame for him.”
Dutch striker Weghorst is among those trying to impress up front in Martial’s absence, but the Burnley mercenary has scored just one goal in six appearances since signing last month.
Ten Hag insists he is doing well and likened him to Marcus Rashford, who went through a rough patch before finding his best form for United and England.
“Martial has some abilities, he adds, he can be more variable, but what is certainly the case is that Wout Weghorst is doing a very good job for us in putting pressure,” said the United boss.
“His attacking moves are very good and he’s the one who makes players around him play better, to create spaces, and he also had some contributions in the penalty area.
“As a team we have to work better to anticipate his movements, because his movements are good, very often he was close. He had a lot of good actions and already a lot of good contributions to our results.
“Especially for rush hour it usually takes time. At the beginning of the season for Rashy, we talked about it many times, and every time I say, ‘It will come. We need to work on routines, the team around it needs to act better, but I see its potential.”
“I see the same with Wout. He will score, but in the meantime do other things.”
Martial is one of several absentees for Wednesday’s game against Leeds, with Christian Eriksen, Donny van de Beek and Scott McTominay also joined by Antony, who came off late against Crystal Palace last weekend.
“I don’t think it’s long, but we have to wait and see how it develops in the coming days,” said Ten Hag about the Brazilian’s injury. “It’s in his leg, but I can’t specify it.”
It was a foul on Antony that led to the fight, which saw Casemiro sent off, earning the main midfielder a three match suspension.
The red card also meant that Ten Hag could not offer Jadon Sancho more playing time after being brought back into the squad.
The English man was given half an hour against Nottingham Forest, impressed Ten Hag, and could get another chance at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
