MARCUS RASHFORD admitted he is still feeling the effects of injuries with England boss Gareth Southgate sweating over his fitness.
The Manchester United striker, 23, was left heartbroken on Wednesday night after his side lost the Europa League final to Villarreal.
A staggering 11-10 penalty shootout ensured the Red Devils went a fourth season without lifting a major trophy.
And to make matters worse, Rashford confessed he continues to play through the pain barrier every time he steps on to the pitch.
He said: “I could walk you into the dressing room, I could show you five, six, seven players and me as well who had injuries here, from September, the beginning of the season.
“We all stayed together as a unit and we fought to be successful for the club.
“This year it didn’t happen, but next year, we have to go away now and clear our heads and when we come back we start fresh.
“When Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] came in, there was a process and the players believe in this process and this isn’t the end of the process.”
Rashford has been managing a shoulder problem throughout the campaign but wanted to delay surgery until after the Euros, where he is expected to be a key player for Southgate.
He also struggles with an ongoing issue with his left foot.
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Despite this, the academy graduate featured in 57 of United’s 61 games this season, totalling more than 4,100 minutes of action, and scored 21 goals.
Speaking in March, he said: “To be honest I just focus on the next game at hand and that’s just the way I deal with it.
“What’s needed after we will deal with that. My main focus is just being available for the games.
“I know my body and I know what I can do physically and that’s it.
“I take one game at a time, it’s the life of a footballer, we can rest when we retire and for now I’m happy playing as many games as I can.
“I recover from games quite well and from injuries well, I have no doubts or fears.”
Rashford – who was racially abused after the Europa League defeat – gave an emotional interview.
The Red Devils ace was visibly gutted but promised to end the club’s long wait for silverware as soon as possible.
There’s one winner and there’s one loser and today we lost… second doesn’t count for anything. It counts for nothing
Marcus Rashford
He added: “I don’t want to hear, ‘Oh, they were so close’ because it doesn’t mean anything.
“There’s one winner and there’s one loser and today we lost and we have to find out why and make sure that next time we don’t lose.
“In the league we finished second, second doesn’t count for anything. It counts for nothing. Manchester City won the league, and we finished second but it means nothing.
“Villarreal win the Europa League and we finish second in it. For us it’s nothing.
“We come next season with more desire, more hunger and we have to do our best on the pitch.
“I promise we are close, but close is not good enough, we have to be there.”
Rashford was named in Southgate’s provisional 33-man squad for the rearranged tournament this summer and is guaranteed to make the final 26.
The Three Lions gaffer is also sweating on the fitness of Rashford’s team-mate Harry Maguire who has suffered ankle ligament damage and sat out of the final in Gdansk as he desperately tries to recover in time to face Croatia on June 13.
Jordan Henderson and Jack Grealish have only just returned from lengthy spells on the sidelines, too, while Nick Pope was unavailable for selection.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
