Gareth Southgate defends Marcus Rashford for flying out to New York amidst injury concerns

England manager Gareth Southgate insists he has no issues with Marcus Rashford flying out to New York to spend some time off.

Rashford pulled out of the England squad for the European qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine due to a hamstring injury.

Since then, he flew to the United States, expectedly to spend some time off amidst a gruelling season in the club and international football.

While there has been some backlash at this, Southgate sounded pretty calm. Here’s what he said (h/t Mirror):

“Once Marcus is ruled out of the squad, it’s entirely up to him how he spends his time. The players don’t get a lot of breaks and I’m sure some of them will be flying off after tomorrow’s game if they get 48 hours off with the schedule as it is.

“Marcus has over 50 caps now for England and close to 50 of those have been since I’ve been the manager. So I’ve known him a long time. I know what he’s capable of. It’s good to see him in the goalscoring form he’s in.”

It is a sensible answer from Southgate. There was no need for people to get hyped up about a player wanting to spend his time off in a different country while nursing a niggling injury.

Rashford has played a lot of games for club and country this season, and there is a lot more to come for the former in the next two months.

If he has decided to stay away from the spotlight and relax for a bit, what is wrong with that? It’s not as if everyone in the England medical staff did not check the reasoning behind his absence from the squad, is it?

So, it would be best if we do not act like children and let people live their lives. The player is not doing anything wrong, and now his manager is on board with what he is doing.

We hope that the 25-year-old is back fit and raring to go when United’s season resumes next weekend. Our first game back is a tough one away to Newcastle United.

More Manchester United News:

• Andy Cole warns against Manchester United move for Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane
• Marcus Rashford ‘ready to wait’ before signing new Manchester United contract
• Torino centre-back Perr Schuurs attracting ‘strong interest’ from Manchester United

Rashford’s availability and form will be key to how Erik ten Hag’s ream finish their season. There is still a chance to finish with three trophies.