Marcus Rashford's 2020/21 season ended in huge disappointment with heartbreaking penalty shootout defeats for both club and country.
Manchester United fell short in their spot-kicks across Villarreal in the Europa League final before England also stumbled against Italy in their Euro 2020 showpiece.
Rashford had been blatantly short of full match fitness for both matches, while his effort in the European Championships final cannoned back off the post.
For the first time in his career, the striker has been afforded a period to rest and recuperate having undergone surgery on a shoulder injury and given his body time to heal.
The England international will return to club football for the first time this weekend as part of United’s first-team squad ahead of a crucial run of games, starting with a tricky trip to Leicester City.
Rashford will have to play his way back into a side that has no shortage of attacking talent; superstar Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the club this summer while United also secured their long-term target, Jadon Sancho.
That means that competition for attacking places if fiercer than ever with Edinson Cavani also returning to fitness, Mason Greenwood in inspired form and Anthony Martial netting against Everton.
Rashford is a supremely talented striker and despite his rest period, he has been working overtime in recent months to return to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side in his optimum physical condition.
How many goals can Rashford score for Man United this season? Let us know what you think in the comments section below
As outlined by a report in the Telegraph, Rashford has added 4kg in body weight due to increased leg muscle – designed to help with his power, acceleration and bursts in behind opposition defences.
The striker has developed physically across his five-and-a-half years in the first-team squad at Old Trafford and is now one of the leanest players in the Premier League.
Aged 23, Rashford has been working hard in the gym using a special training programme with resistance bands to increase his muscle mass specifically for in-game benefits.
That came at a time when he had to give his shoulder a rest as it recovered from the surgery, meaning that he could focus on other areas of his body before adding in extra exercises.
Rashford was reported to have been spending entire days at the club’s Carrington training facilities as he took his fitness regime up a notch in order to return in his best possible shape this weekend.
The striker is motivated by disappointments in recent seasons but there is no doubting his supreme talent and despite all their embarrassment of attacking riches, United have missed his spark and ingenuity this season.
