Erik ten Hag, manager of Manchester United, has expressed his concern for Marcus Rashford after the striker suffered an apparent groin injury during Saturday’s 2-0 win against Everton. Ten Hag told BT Sport that it “doesn’t look well” for the 25-year-old England international, who was seen walking slowly up the tunnel after the match. The Dutchman also complained about United’s schedule, which involved them playing a late Sunday game last week and an early Saturday one in this round of fixtures, suggesting that it could have contributed to the injury.
Ten Hag admitted that he could have taken Rashford off once United had their second goal 19 minutes from time, but opted against that move because he wanted his leading scorer to get game-time alongside the returning Anthony Martial. He explained that no manager at this stage of the season would rotate so much, and that there was no indication of an injury before the match.
The manager was happier about the performance of skipper Harry Maguire, which he says he has not seen previously. Maguire has featured for just five minutes across three home Premier League games since he started against Bournemouth on 3 January, but evidently he would prefer to be on the pitch and Ten Hag said his contribution to a win that consolidates United’s top-four position was exactly what he is looking for. He praised Maguire for doing “really well today, in and out of possession, dominating his opponent, dictating and bringing passes”. It remains to be seen whether this performance will be enough for Maguire to retain his place for Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final with Sevilla, given Raphael Varane was an unused substitute.