Didier Deschamps eases Manchester United fears over Anthony Martial’s knee injury on France duty as he insists it is ‘nothing serious’ and the forward could play in World Cup qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Didier Deschamps has said Anthony Martial’s knee injury is ‘nothing serious’
- The forward limped off in the 59th minute of France’s 2-0 win against Kazakhstan
- Reports suggested he would miss Les Bleus’ match against Bosnia-Herzegovina
- But Deschamps said Martial could feature tonight, raising United fans’ hopes
Didier Deschamps has eased Manchester United’s fears over Anthony Martial’s injury on France duty.
The winger was forced off in the 59th minute of France’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory against Kazakhstan on Sunday with a knee problem.
Martial looked set to miss out on his side’s qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina tonight, making him a doubt for United’s clash against Brighton.
Anthony Martial’s (right) knee injury on France duty is ‘not serious’, says Didier Deschamps
The winger looked to be a doubt for United after limping off in France’s win against Kazakhstan
But France boss Deschamps said the injury is not serious and suggested he could play this evening.
‘Anthony has a small issue on his knee. Nothing is decided yet [as to whether he can play against Bosnia-Herzegovina],’ he said.
‘He won’t be taking part in the training session a bit later. We’ll see tomorrow (Wednesday). Anything serious has been dismissed.
‘We’ve run some tests, but there’s still the pain, and having travelled as long as we have, that hasn’t helped.’
Martial started France’s victory on Sunday and provided the assist for Ousmane Dembele’s opening goal in the 19th minute.
He received a pass from Paul Pogba on the turn and dragged Kazakhstan’s defenders out of position, before laying off for Dembele to smash home.
The United forward almost got a goal of his own in the 43rd minute when he tried to get on the end of a Thomas Lemar cross with a stooping header, only for Serhiy Malyi to produce an incredible clearance.
Martial was given treatment for a knee problem after appearing to get his studs caught in the turf and was replaced by Kylian Mbappe just before the hour mark.
Deschamps has suggested Martial could play for France against Bosnia-Herzegovina tonight
The winger had only just returned from a hip injury which kept him out for four United games earlier this month.
But Deschamps’s update will give the Red Devils hope he can feature in their crucial Premier League match against Brighton on Sunday.
Martial remains an important part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad, despite struggling to hit the heights of his career-best 23 goals last campaign. This season he has seven goals and eight assists in all competitions.
United are second in the table with eight games left to play, just a point above third-placed Leicester. They face Granada in the Europa League quarter-finals next week.
France are top of their World Cup qualifying group with four points after their first two fixtures but could only manage a 1-1 draw with Ukraine in their opening match.
