Martial set to miss Man United’s Premier League opener vs Brighton

Anthony Martial is set to miss Manchester United’s Premier League opener against Brighton on Sunday due to a hamstring injury.

The 26-year-old suffered the injury during United’s defeat to Atletico Madrid in Oslo last Sunday.

According to The Athletic, Martial is likely to be out for United’s first game of the new season this weekend but the club are hopeful that he can return against Brentford on August 13.

Martial’s absence means Erik ten Hag could be forced to turn to Cristiano Ronaldo to lead United’s attack against Brighton.

The 37-year-old missed the majority of United’s pre-season campaign due to family reasons and has played just 45 minutes against Rayo Vallecano last Sunday ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

Speaking at the weekend, Ten Hag admitted that Ronaldo was not up to speed.

‘He is not on the level of the rest of the squad because he missed a lot of weeks, but he needs games and he needs training, a lot,’ the United manager said.

Anthony Martial has scored three goals in pre-season this summer (EPA)

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Ten Hag also branded Ronaldo’s conduct as ‘unacceptable’ after the Portugal international left Old Trafford early before United’s friendly against Vallecano had ended.

‘I told them that it’s unacceptable,’ Ten Hag told Viaplay when asked about Ronaldo’s decision to leave early.

‘We are a team, a squad, and that you should stay until the end.’

Elsewhere, Jadon Sancho is set to be avaialble after he missed United’s friendly against Atletico Madrid due to illness.

Ten Hag also has the option of playing Marcus Rashford in a central attacking role in Martial’s absence.