Marcus Rashford is set to miss the start of the 2021-22 Premier League campaign as he requires surgery to fix a long-term shoulder issue that hampered him during the second half of last season.
The 23-year-old has had a muscle tear in his left shoulder since the end of November and was given pain-killing injections to manage the problem, ensuring he could complete the season with Manchester United and feature for England at Euro 2020.
However, due to concerns over how it has healed over the past eight months, Rashford has decided to go under the knife in an attempt to fix the problem once and for all. The surgeon is unavailable to treat Rashford until the end of July, though, meaning his comeback will be delayed by up to a fortnight.
United are set to play their first competitive fixture of the new season against Leeds at Old Trafford on Saturday 14 August.
It is anticipated that Rashford could be out of action for three months in total, meaning he would only return towards the end of October. If that is the case, Rashford could miss United’s first eight league matches, a few Champions League group stage games and five World Cup qualifiers with England.
If his recovery period goes to plan, his first match back could be against Liverpool at Old Trafford on the weekend commencing Saturday 23 October.
The games that Rashford could miss
- Saturday 14 August: Manchester United vs Everton
- Sunday 22 August: Southampton vs Manchester United
- Sunday 29 August: Wolves vs Manchester United
- Thursday 2 September: Hungary vs England
- Sunday 5 September: England vs Andorra
- Wednesday 8 September: Poland vs England
- Saturday 11 September: Manchester United vs West Ham
- Sunday 19 September: West Ham vs Manchester United
- Wednesday 23 September: Carabao Cup third round
- Saturday 25 September: Manchester United vs Aston Villa
- Saturday 2 October: Manchester United vs Everton
- Saturday 9 October: Andorra vs England
- Tuesday 12 October: England vs Hungary
- Saturday 16 October: Leicester vs Manchester United
*Uefa’s Champions League group stage schedule is yet to be confirmed
Despite dealing with the shoulder problem last season, Rashford played more club games (57) than in any other season in his career, missing just one Premier League fixture.
Rashford’s form peaked in the first few months of the season and dipped towards the end. Rashford scored 14 of his 21 goals for United in his first 24 games, compared to just seven in his final 33 matches.
That drop in output gives an indication as to why he was only used sparingly by Gareth Southgate at Euro 2020, making all five of his appearances at the tournament as a substitute. Rashford was given just two minutes in the final against Italy, before missing a penalty in the shootout.
In a social media post, Rashford said: “I’ve had a difficult season, I think that’s been clear for everyone to see and I probably went into that final with a lack of confidence. I’ve always backed myself for a penalty but something didn’t feel quite right.”
Bruno Fernandes was the only United player to feature in more games than Rashford in 2020-21 and only by one game, showing how important the England forward is to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. His absence will be keenly felt, although softened by the arrival of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.
Rashford, along with Sancho and Arsenal teenager Bukayo Saka, was subjected to horrific racist abuse after the defeat to Italy for missing penalties in the shootout. A mural of Rashford in his hometown of Withington was daubed with offensive graffiti.
The street artist Akse, who created the mural, has since restored it, while the wall on which it appears has been decorated with hundreds of supportive messages and England flags. People took the knee to show their support for the Black Lives Movement next to the mural on Tuesday evening.
Rashford responded to the outpouring of support by saying: “The messages I have received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears.
“The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up. I’m Marcus Rashford, 23 years old, black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester.
“If I have nothing else, I have that. For all the kind messages, thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3i8iYCz
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