Manchester United have confirmed that Marcus Rashford has returned to limited training after the forward was forced to pull out of England 's recent games through injury.
He withdrew from the qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine after suffering a toe problem. The Three Lions won both games in his absence, to being their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a perfect record, though Rashford spent the weekend in New York.
The forward posted several images on his social media from his holiday with his girlfriend to the Big Apple. But he came in for criticism from some quarters for jetting away to America, rather than focus on his recovery from injury.
But while admitting he remains a doubt for the trip to Newcastle on Saturday, United have given a positive update on his recovery. The Red Devils have confirmed that Rashford returned to the training pitch on Monday, though did not join the main group.
" Marcus Rashford has started his recovery at Carrington after sustaining an injury in our last fixture, the Emirates FA Cup quarter-final win over Fulham. Marcus was able to get out on the grass at our training base on Monday," a statement read.
"But the Reds' leading goalscorer could only take part in a small session, away from the main group. There was no ball work involved for the 25-year-old, who scored his 27th goal of United's season with a long-range beauty against Real Betis.
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"Rashford's fitness will be a concern heading into the Premier League clash at Newcastle United on Sunday. United boss Erik ten Hag is likely to provide an update on Marcus in his pre-match press conference later this week."
Rashford came under fire for his decision to fly out to New York having pulled out of the England squad. But Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate moved to defend the United star, insisting he had no issue with Rashford going on holiday.
“Once Marcus is ruled out of the squad, it’s entirely up to him how he spends his time. The players don’t get a lot of breaks and I’m sure some of them will be flying off after tomorrow’s game if they get 48 hours off with the schedule as it is," he said before the win over Ukraine.
“We are always linking with clubs on scans and assessments. There is also how every individual player feels, so there is a lot involved. I am always working with the players on what the best solution is for them.
“Of course, we always want the players and we always want to work with them as often as we can. In every squad we have, we always lose a couple. My focus then has to be on the group that are here, and how do we win the games?
“Marcus is in good form and we’d love to have had him as an option for this camp - but we haven’t got him. I know what he’s capable of. It’s good to see him in the goalscoring form he’s in."
