Marcus Rashford is unlikely to recover from a back injury in time to play for Manchester United against Liverpool on Sunday, according to his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Rashford was forced off during Wednesday’s FA Cup third round replay against Wolves after taking a knee to the small of his back.
United’s top scorer attempted to play on but eventually had to be replaced, having only been introduced as a substitute 15 minutes earlier.
Solskjaer wants to give Rashford every chance of playing at Anfield, given that it was the 22-year-old who scored in their 1-1 draw with the league leaders in October.
But the United manager is pessimistic about Rashford’s chances of playing, while awaiting further tests on his back on Friday.
“I can’t tell you now [whether he’ll be ready],” Solskjaer said. “As I said with Harry [Maguire] a few weeks ago, of course we’re going to give him the absolute amount of time to find out.
“We’ll do some more checks and treatment with him today. Yesterday was a recovery day. I’m not going to hold my breath.
“I would probably think he wouldn’t be ready but let’s see. 48 hours, so let’s see.”
Solskjaer had named Rashford among the substitutes for Wednesday’s win over Wolves, but introduced him with the game still goalless midway through the second half.
The United manager admitted that bringing Rashford on had “backfired”, as his top scorer has been struggling with back issues of late.
Rashford has managed back problems throughout his career and was recently pictured carrying a ultrasound bone healing device which he uses to treat any discomfort.
