- Rashford missed last squad through injury
- Criticised after ill-timed New York trip
- But has reaffirmed commitment to England
WHAT HAPPENED? The United star, who scored 30 goals across all competitions for the club in 2022-23, was forced to withdraw from international games against Italy and Ukraine back in March with a knock. Rashford then made an ill-timed time trip to New York with then-fiancée Lucia Loi - with whom he has since reportedly split - during the Three Lions' 2-1 win over Italy. This drew criticism from some sections of supporters and the media, but the 25-year-old has come out to reiterate that he is fully committed to Gareth Southgate's project.
WHAT THEY SAID: Asked about the effects of such comments, Rashford told reporters on Wednesday: "Honestly it doesn’t [hurt]. I know I am committed 100 per cent so people are going to say what they want to say. I didn’t see it [the criticism] to be honest until I got home. But I need time to switch off and recover so I took a short trip - four days - and then went back to do rehab and try to get ready as soon as possible. With these injuries, you can’t predict when they are going to happen. Thankfully I have very few muscle strains but occasionally you do get impact injuries.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The United man posted a career-best tally at club level last term, racking up a total of41 goal contributions in 56 appearances across all competitions. But such prominence in Erik ten Hag's side took its toll, with Rashford suffering repeated muscle injuries towards the back end of the campaign. Given the World Cup mid-season, the forward totalled a mammoth 61 appearances for club and country. Reiterating the thoughts of many past and present professionals, Rashford feels this number needs to be curbed.
He added: "It is mad that at club level we are playing against clubs playing one game a week and we are playing three a week from November until we get knocked out of the Europa League. In the earlier stages of my career I couldn’t make sense of it. I know some managers have spoken out against it. I don’t think it is correct. I think we need to be given more time to recover from different games and at different times of the season. I don’t think it is down to the players, we shouldn’t have to speak out.”
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT? Rashford has been backed by Southgate to prove his commitment, as he features in the Three Lions squad to take on Malta and North Macedonia in Euro 2024 qualifying on Friday and Monday, respectively.
