Manchester United are heading into their final seven games of the 2025/26 campaign as Michael Carrick's men push to finish third in the Premier League table.

Having taken over in mid-January, the current United boss has done a brilliant job picking up the pieces left shattered by Rúben Amorim's firing after the turn of the year, winning seven of his ten games in charge.

The club's goal this campaign has always been to qualify for next season's Champions League, and with the club sitting seven points off sixth-placed Chelsea, it feels almost certain that this will be achieved.

With the club now on the tail-end of a 24-day break with no action, they travelled to Ireland for a four-day training camp to reinvigorate the squad and prepare for their crunch clash against Leeds United on Monday evening.

While the 24-day break has been long enough for most of the Old Trafford faithful, the wait for Lisandro Martínez has been even longer. 

By the time United line up against Leeds, the Argentina international would have watched 60 days go by since he last played for the club, having missed the last two months with a calf injury.

But, with the defender now back in full training amid Harry Maguire's one-match ban, BBC Sport have reported that his return is viewed by the squad as particularly important due to the intensity he brings to training.

Martínez is well known for being a player who holds the highest standards on and off the field and is often caught telling off anyone in the squad he feels falls short of his expectations. During the run-in, he will be vital if he can stay fit.

Another centre-back who has missed a lot of action is Matthijs de Ligt, who has not played a minute of football since the end of November. After defeating Crystal Palace, he suffered a bizarre back injury and has not played since.

In his absence, Maguire has found himself back in the fold in defence, although the Dutch-born contingent of Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee, and Tyrell Malacia all sent a heartwarming message after De Ligt missed the training camp this week.

According to reports, 

The 26-year-old is still hopeful that he will be able to return to duty before the season ends, although this is becoming less and less likely as the campaign draws to a close.

While De Ligt is not expected to be sold or otherwise moved on this summer, his long-term absence has raised questions about his reliability, and he will have to prove himself next campaign.