MANCHESTER UNITED have been dealt a major blow after Marcus Rashford limped off the pitch just 15 minutes after coming off the bench against Wolves.
Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted his substitution “backfired” as he sweats on the striker’s availability for the huge match with bitter rivals Liverpool Sunday.
Rashford limped off after being involved in a heavy collision
Rashford was involved in a heavy collision just ten minutes after coming on
Gareth Southgate will join Solskjaer in fearing the worst – with England already potentially missing Harry Kane for this summer’s European Championships.
Rashford was a 64th-minute sub at Old Trafford for the FA Cup third-round replay, but took a hefty blow just ten minutes later.
The Old Trafford star initially hobbled off the pitch, before jogging back to the middle of the pitch in a bid to continue.
But moments later, Rashford was on the floor again and was swiftly replaced by Jesse Lingard for the final ten minutes of the game – which ended in a 1-0 United win.
It could prove to be a huge problem for Solskjaer, with Man Utd facing Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday.
After the game, Solskjaer said Rashford “will be tested in the next few days” to determine his fitness.
When asked if it was a mistake to bring Rashford on, the boss replied: “That backfired but you’ve got to go for them once in a while.
“It seems like he’s got a knock and he couldn’t run so let’s test in the next couple of days. Hopefully okay for Sunday but I don’t know.
“He couldn’t run. He’s struggled a little bit with a couple of knocks in his back recently and now he’s got another one.”
Rashford also Tweeted after the game.
He wrote: “Never want to feel like I’ve let my team-mates, the club and most importantly the fans down so did my very best to carry on tonight and was gutted to come off.
“Top work from the lads to get into the next round.”
Rashford made his 200th appearance for Man Utd in the hammering of Norwich last weekend.
Since making his debut against Midtjylland in February 2016, no player in England has played more club games than Rashford.
The forward was expected to be rested for the game against Wolves.
But with Mason Greenwood desperately struggling to get into the game, Solskjaer brought him off the bench, in what could prove to be a costly mistake.
Ahead of the game, Rashford revealed he hated the idea of being left on the bench and was eager to prove he could play regularly without any problems.
The England star said: “I think physically and mentally you become so robust. You get used to playing 40-50 games in a season.
“It was probably something that when I was 18 and first came into the team wasn’t physically possible for me.
Rashford has played more club games since his debut than any other star
“The amount of games is not really a big thing for me personally, just as long as I’m in the right frame of mind.”
Despite that, a cautious Solskjaer claimed: “He is a young boy who I don’t want to use too much, for his own benefit, as you don’t want to burn him out.
“But he’s so energetic and professional and he’s raring to go again.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
