Southgate offers Rashford injury update as Man Utd injury crisis worsens
Gareth Southgate has played down concerns that Marcus Rashford could be set for a spell on the sidelines.
Rashford was substituted off just after the hour mark as England claimed a narrow win over Malta on Friday night. The Manchester United star was involved in a collision with Trent Alexander-Arnold that left him sprawled on the deck, with Cole Palmer quickly replacing him.
That led to concerns over Rashford's fitness, with United boss Erik ten Hag already dealing with a large-scale injury crisis. Fortunately for the Dutchman, while the attacker was in some pain as he came off, Southgate has insisted that Rashford's injury is not as bad as first feared.
"I think he [Rashford] is probably okay. We just thought given the nature of the collision it was a chance to get Cole into the game. I haven’t assessed too much but I think he was okay when he came off," Southgate said after the disappointing 2-0 win.
"It was a game where we didn't start well and I have been in football for a long time and know that if you don't start well then it's hard to pick the game up. We got a goal out of nothing really but the quality on the ball is not normally at that level.
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"It was one of those days where the players knew they could win the game at a canter and we didn't really extend ourselves as much as we normally would. They are playing so many matches and have done such a brilliant job, so I am not going to hammer them for that.
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Marcus Rashford's injury is not as bad as first feared (Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images)“We know we should have been better than we were but it was one of those days where we didn’t really get going. The changes [in the second half] brought more quality as well so in the second half we could have scored more."
Southgate's prognosis will be good news for Ten Hag, who is already missing Rasmus Hojlund, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia Jonny Evans, Casemiro and Amad Diallo. The Dutchman though is proud of how his squad has been dealing with the crisis.
"You don’t want to miss any player. There’s also Christian Eriksen. That is our season at this moment – we have so many injuries. But therefore you have a squad. We have talked about it many times," he said after the win over Luton.
"But of course the routine levels are dropping down, the routine levels in the team, in the way of playing, but hopefully players are coming back and those new injuries are not too bad. Even after all the setbacks we have to deal with, we are still in a position near the top four.
"When we start to play well, when the team is set for a couple of weeks and months. Other teams will get their setbacks and drop points. Now we won our last four from give in PL and We are in quite a good position.
"If you oversee the trouble we have had, we’re in a very good position and that’s a reason to be optimistic, looking forward in the future. A step up in performances and this, creating a lot of chances, makes me hopeful and then we will move forward, get better performances and get even more points."
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