Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial have not trained fully for Manchester United this week and could miss the derby on Sunday....CONTINUE READING
The Times report that both players are serious doubts for the game against Manchester City as United finally return to Premier League action.
They report that Martial’s injury is more serious than Rashford’s, which makes sense as it has kept him out for longer.
Neither man has been pictured in training sessions this week, although there is potential hope that they could return to sessions today.
Rashford missed the Europa League win over Sheriff and did not go on international duty with the England squad because of his issue.
That came at a bad time because it was his last potential opportunity to impress Gareth Southgate close up before he names his World Cup squad.
It also occurred as he was coming into his best run of form for United since before Euro 2020, and looked as if he had finally shaken off form and confidence issues.
If fit on Sunday, Rashford would offer Erik ten Hag a mobile, counter-attacking centre-forward option and his absence would be a headache.
Martial was arguably the star of Ten Hag’s first United pre-season but the concern always was how he would fare when the serious stuff started.
Injuries have limited him to just 45 minutes as a substitute in the 2-1 win over Liverpool, where he showcased his qualities in terms of holding the ball up and composure on the ball.
But he suffered another injury in that game and has not been seen since, with each passing week of absence growing more and more concerning.
Ten Hag has a press conference tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, where he may shed some more light on the injury situation.
