With the 2026 World Cup now less than six months away, Argentina’s World Cup-winning defender Lisandro Martinez is once again dreaming of wearing the famous Albiceleste jersey. But just a year ago, that dream almost disappeared.
In February 2025, the Manchester United center-back suffered a devastating anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his left knee. The long and painful recovery nearly pushed him into early retirement, both physically and emotionally.
“𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔, 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍,” 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒛 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑨𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒚.”
Family, Fatherhood, and a Fighting Spirit Martinez
The 27-year-old described that period as a time of “mourning” for the footballer he believed he had lost. But a life-changing moment soon gave him renewed purpose. Martinez became a father just one month after his injury — a turning point that reshaped his mindset.
“𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒏, 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, ‘𝑵𝒐, 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒑,’” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚, 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒓.”
Support from close friends and family helped Martinez find strength during his darkest moments. He leaned on those around him to push past the temptation to walk away from the game he loves.
After 10 months of relentless rehabilitation, Martinez finally returned to the pitch in Manchester United’s victory over Newcastle on December 26 — a moment he described as deeply emotional and transformative.
Today, the Argentine defender says the injury has changed him for the better, both on and off the field.
“𝑰 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚 — 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓,” 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒛 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑷𝒉𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓.”
As the 48-team World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada approaches, Martinez stands on the brink of an extraordinary comeback — ready to chase global glory once more alongside Lionel Messi and Argentina.
Also Read: Teen Sensation Yamal and Torres Fire Barca into Last Eight
