Erik ten Hag explains decision to substitute Lisandro Martinez at half-time

Erik ten Hag is optimistic the injury which forced him to substitute Lisandro Martinez at half-time against Wolves last night is not serious.

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The Manchester United defender endured a difficult opening 45 minutes at Old Trafford and was booked for a reckless challenge on Pedro Neto.

Ten Hag, however, revealed after United had laboured to a highly fortuitous 1-0 victory, secured by Raphael Varane’s late goal, that Martinez’s withdrawal had nothing to do with protecting the combative centre-half from a potential red card.

‘A little problem on his ankle, tendon,’ said the Untied manager when asked why ‘The Butcher’ lasted only 45 minutes.

‘We’ll see but I don’t think it’s a big deal. We’ll see how he is this week.’

After their false start last season, which saw United beaten by Brighton and Brentford in their opening two games, Ten Hag was relieved to see his side at least pick up maximum points despite a disjointed performance.

The home side were indebted to debutant goalkeeper Andre Onana, who made several fine saves, and profligate finishing from a Wolves side in a state of disarray following the decision to replace Julien Lopetegui with Gary O’Neil last week.

United also survived a late scare when VAR opted not to intervene when Onana clattered into two Wolves players attempting to punch away a deep cross and Ten Hag admitted his side were far from at their best.

He said: ‘We can play better, but we’re very pleased with the win. The opposition were dynamic. We have to match that. We had to fight for our points.

‘There is no easy game in the Premier League and definitely not Wolves. They are a tough team and we did really well.

‘We hope we will be better on the ball in the next game.’

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