Marcus Rashford, who has scored 28 goals in all competitions this season, was replaced in the 80th minute of Man Utd’s 2-0 victory against Everton on Saturday due to a muscular injury. Rashford will miss “a few games” as well as the club’s Europa League quarterfinal first leg against Sevilla on Thursday.
Marcus Rashford will miss Manchester United’s Europa League quarter-final on Thursday against Sevilla and “a few games” owing to a muscular injury, however is expected to recover for the season run-in, the club have confirmed.
Rashford was replaced in the 80th minute of Manchester United’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Everton at Old Trafford, clutching his groin, and promptly headed to the locker room for treatment.
According to United, the England international “will be unavailable for a few games, but is expected to return for the season’s final stretch.”
Rashford has been a vital part of the club’s recovery under Erik ten Hag this season, scoring 28 goals in all competitions, including one at Wembley in February that helped them win the Carabao Cup, the season’s first accessible prize.
In his news conference ahead of Thursday’s tie, asked if Rashford will be back for the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton on April 22, he said: “It’s a few games, that’s the statement. I can’t go into further depth since we don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see how the injury progresses.
“Of course, it’s a setback and he’s unhappy about it but he’s not utterly broken because he knows he will recover fast so he’s optimistic. He’s started immediately on his rehabilitation and rehab, which helps to get back soon.”
United, on the other hand, have recently seen Anthony Martial return to fitness, and he scored the second goal against Everton on Saturday.
Christian Eriksen is also back after a lengthy injury layoff, coming on as a substitute on Saturday, while Casemiro is expected to be in the squad on Thursday after serving his four-game suspension, missing the last three Premier League games as well as their FA Cup tie with Fulham.
Rashford’s injury, combined with the possibility of United playing 65 games this season if they reach the FA Cup and Europa League finals, prompted Ten Hag to issue new calls for more considerate scheduling on Saturday.
Before beginning the round of games last weekend with the noon match against Everton, United played Brentford on Wednesday and lost at Newcastle in the late-kickoff game on Sunday.
Ten Hag stated, “Some things you can’t avoid, but this was avoidable.” “Why did the Premier League schedule an early Saturday game and a late Sunday night game for us? It doesn’t seem right to me.
“You are risking a danger; players can’t recover that rapidly. All science and research will tell you that players require a specific amount of time to recover.
“It’s also part of the schedule that we’re now in this situation, and we can only hope he [Rashford] doesn’t drop off.”
When asked if he was guilty of overplaying Rashford and if this was symptomatic of a lack of depth in the squad, Ten Hag replied, “Not any manager at this stage of the season will rotate so much.”
“I understand why this is the toughest league, and in all of the leagues and competitions we’ve been in, you need a squad to rotate to a certain point, but this was avoidable; it wasn’t necessary to set the schedule we have now.”
“Other factors, such as player safety, are more important from a sporting standpoint.” Today’s afternoon was entertaining, but players can’t do that when they’re tired.
“We created a lot of chances, but we missed them due to a lack of freshness at the end.” You risk injuring the players, so we must safeguard them, which is also in the best interests of the spectators. You must have the best players on the field.”
What’s next?
Nottingham Forest
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Sunday 16th April 4:00pmKick off 4:30pm
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Manchester United face Sevilla in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday at 8pm, before travelling to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Super Sunday on April 16, live on Sky Sports.
Man Utd’s remaining fixtures
April 13: Sevilla (H) – Europa League, kick-off 8pm
April 16: Nottingham Forest (A) – Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports
April 20: Sevilla (A) – Europa League, kick-off 8pm
April 22: Brighton (N) – FA Cup semi-final, kick-off 3pm
April 27: Tottenham (A) – Premier League, kick-off 8:15pm
April 30: Aston Villa (H) – Premier League, kick-off 2pm
May 4: Brighton (A) – Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
May 7: West Ham (A) – Premier League, kick-off 7pm
May 13: Wolves (H) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 20: Bournemouth (A) – Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 28: Fulham (H) – Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
TBA: Chelsea (H) – Premier League
Source: skysports.com
