Manchester United's Anthony Martial leaves Wembley on crutches

Anthony Martial started for France in their 2-0 defeat to England on Tuesday night.

Manchester United have been dealt an injury blow as forward Anthony Martial was seen leaving the Wembley Stadium on crutches on Tuesday night, as per reports on the Mirror. Martial started in France’s 2-0 defeat to England on an emotional night at the national stadium and he remains a major doubt for Saturday’s Premier League game against Watford.

The 19-year-old was taken off in the second half after taking a knock to the top of his left foot and he was replaced by Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann. Martial was then seen leaving the venue on crutches after the game.

France coach Didier Deschamps has played down any significant injury concerns, insisting that it was just a slight knock on his foot and is suffering a bit of pain.

“He was in quite a bit of pain after the match. He got a kick in the penalty area,” Deschamps said in the post-match interview.

“I think it's just a knock rather than anything else to the top of his foot.”

The latest news has handed United boss Louis van Gaal yet another injury problem to deal with. Earlier this week, Martial’s teammate Antonio Valencia was ruled out for five months with a foot injury and midfielder Michael Carrick was forced to withdraw from the national camp prior to the friendly against Les Bleus with a knock to his ankle.

Martial injury adds to Van Gaal’s striker woes

Ever since his big-money move from Ligue 1’s AS Monaco, the Frenchman has been impressive for the Red Devils and is living up to the lofty price tag in his first season. The 19-year-old introduced himself to the Old Trafford faithful by scoring a fantastic solo goal against Liverpool on his debut.

Van Gaal has so far deployed Martial in two positions. The former Monaco forward has been a regular starter and is already one of United’s main attacking outlets.

During the early stages of the campaign, the French youngster was efficient in front of goal. However, in recent games, Martial and his attacking partners have been wasteful. Neither Memphis Depay nor the club captain Rooney have been finding the back of the net frequently, during the Frenchman’s barren run.

The Dutch coach is now handed with a difficult task to replace the forward during his absence due to the squad’s lack of depth in terms of strikers. Martial has never struggled with injuries in the past and fans will be hopeful he makes a quick recovery.