ERIK TEN HAG has confirmed Marcus Rashford is a doubt for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle.
The red-hot England star, 25, sparked injury concerns with a cryptic Instagram post following the 2-1 Europa League win over Barcelona.
And Ten Hag appears to have confirmed Rashford could miss Man Utd’s first Wembley showdown in six years.
When asked about Rashford’s knock, Ten Hag said: “I don’t know, the players now are coming in.
“We have to do investigations, medical of course.
“We did straight after the game, but most of the time you have to wait for a 100 per cent diagnosis.
“So let’s do the medical, the work, we have to wait.”
Rashford was in action as Man Utd side edged past Barcelona in the Europa League.
Ten Hag’s men produced a rousing comeback to win 2-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.
But Rashford’s evening ended on a sour note as he was subbed off in the 88th minute, looking clearly uncomfortable.
The red-hot forward removed his left boot and walked straight down the tunnel after talking to Ten Hag.
After the match, he took to Instagram – but not just to celebrate the win like many of his team-mates.
Instead, he posted a snap of himself walking off with his boot in his hand, accompanied by a bandaged emoji.
Fans quickly took that to mean he was an injury worry for Sunday.
And Ten Hag’s update appears to have confirmed that.
Rashford’s absence would be a huge loss with the England ace in scintillating form since the World Cup.
The forward has bagged 17 goals in 20 appearances after returning from Qatar.
Ten Hag may now be forced to find another way to beat an “annoying” Newcastle XI.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s game, the Man Utd boss said: “They’re an annoying team to play against, so we have to find a way to win. They try to annoy you.
“For instance you want to play an effective time. They have the lowest in the league and they are quite successful with it.
“So it’s up to us that we get speed in the game and we are also then dependent on the refereeing as well.
“We have to make it our game and focus on the job, on playing football.
“We have to concentrate on the job and not get distracted and find our moments when we can strike.”
Ten Hag was also praiseworthy of Newcastle’s football when the ball is actually on the pitch.
He said: “It’s a great team, a clear philosophy about how they want to play the game. The key word is intensity, they do really well.”
Ten Hag wants to leave nothing to chance as the Red Devils bid for their first trophy in six years.
He said: “It is a great opportunity to get silverware in.
“It is all about glory and honour in football. We deserve to play in the final and now we have a great opportunity to win the cup and we have to do everything to get it to Manchester.
“The fans are really waiting for it, so we have do everything we can to give the fans their honour.”
SOURCE: thesun.co.uk
