Southgate explains decision to snub Rashford after journalist claims he’s carrying a ‘slight knock’

Marcus Rashford was called up to represent England over the international break but made just one 15-minute cameo across their two matches.

The Manchester United star entered the camp in fine form, having scored three goals in his past three matches for his club. One of which was a scintillating outside-the-box strike against Manchester City, while the latest was a vital equaliser in extra-time of the Reds’ FA Cup triumph over Liverpool.

With all things considered, it has been an underwhelming season for Rashford thus far, and it certainly won’t be up to the standards he’d have set of himself over the summer. It comes on the back of a career-best 30-goal campaign, so fans had high expectations of the forward heading into 2023/2024.

His confidence looks to be gradually increasing, though, and you’d suppose that it’s better late than never. United face an uphill battle in their top-four quest over the remainder of the term and are two matches away from claiming silverware for a second successive season in the form of the FA Cup.

When the Three Lions took on Brazil last Saturday, Rashford was omitted from the starting 11 in place of debutant Anthony Gordon. He entered the fold alongside fellow Red Kobbie Mainoo in the 75th minute before England sunk to a narrow 1-0 defeat at Wembley.

Last night, he was an unused substitute throughout their 2-2 draw with Belgium. Gareth Southgate opted to deploy Phil Foden and Jarrod Bowen on either flank, with Ivan Toney through the middle.

It came after journalist Henry Winter claimed that the United graduate had been carrying a ‘slight knock’ since the win over Nottingham Forest on February 28, although this seemingly played no part in Southgate’s decision-making.

Southgate explains Rashford omission

When asked whether Rashford was left on the bench due to an injury, the manager responded (via The Mirror): “No, I wanted to see Anthony Gordon again. I thought he had an excellent impact in the first game, and I thought that [James] Maddison coming into that area could open things up for us a bit.”