Ferdinand reveals what he’s heard about Rashford ‘behind the scenes’ which directly contradicts Ten Hag

Manchester United fans were surprised to see that Marcus Rashford has been dropped from the starting 11 for tonight’s clash with Chelsea.

The Englishman has been a mainstay in Erik ten Hag’s line-ups this season, although he has often struggled to repay his manager’s faith on the pitch; Rashford has recorded just eight goals and six assists in 36 appearances thus far.

Some of his most prolific performances have, ironically, come against Chelsea. In the 18 times he’s come up against the Stamford Bridge outfit, Rashford has netted six times and created a further three goals.

Alas, responsibility will now be primarily shared upon Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Rasmus Hojlund to do a job over Mauricio Pochettino’s out-of-form super-squad. 

Rashford’s omission raises eyebrows

Before this evening’s 8.15pm kick-off, Ten Hag explained his reasoning behind the No.10’s absence, telling reporters it was “for rotation to keep him and the team fresh through a busy period with another big game on Sunday”.

Rio Ferdinand doesn’t believe this to be the exact case, though, as he revealed to the panel on TNT Sports: “I’m hearing behind-the-scenes he might have a knock.”