Gareth Southgate has stated that he has no objections to Marcus Rashford traveling to New York after being left out of England’s squad for the two Euro 2024 qualifiers..
The Manchester United forward was ruled out after suffering a knock in the Reds’ FA Cup victory over Fulham last weekend, coming off in the 83rd minute. He was absent from Thursday’s 2-1 win over Italy and will be absent again on Sunday against Ukraine.
Rashford has missed five of England’s last six non-tournament internationals despite scoring 27 goals in 44 games this season..
While some were taken aback when the United star posted a photo of himself on Instagram enjoying a break with his girlfriend in New York, Southgate has no complaints about how he spends his time.
When asked about Rashford’s absence, the Three Lions manager said: “Marcus has complete control over how he spends his time once he is ruled out of the squad. The players don’t get many breaks, and I’m sure some of them will be flying out after tomorrow’s game if they get 48 hours off with the current schedule.
“We are constantly collaborating with clubs on scans and assessments. There’s also how each individual player feels, so there’s a lot going on.
I am constantly collaborating with the players to determine the best solution for them. Of course, we always want the players and want to work with them as much as possible.
We always lose a couple of players in every squad we have. My focus must then be on the people who are here and how we can win the games.”
Rashford has been in brilliant form for Erik ten Hag’s side this season, contributing 36 goals in 44 games. Given the level of play the forward has been at since the World Cup in Qatar, Southgate admitted he was disappointed the 25-year-old couldn’t be part of the squad.
“Marcus is in good form, and we’d love to have had him as an option for this camp – but we don’t have him,” Southgate added. We always make decisions based on how people play, and he’s obviously played a lot for us. Marcus now has over 50 England caps, nearly half of which have come since I took over as manager.
So I’ve known him for quite some time. I’m aware of what he’s capable of. It’s encouraging to see him in goal-scoring form. There has been a period in the last couple of years when he hasn’t been as hot as that, which has been frustrating for everyone, but he is in good form and we hope that can continue..
Meanwhile, Rashford’s Manchester United teammate Luke Shaw chose to continue training with England ahead of the match against Ukraine, despite being suspended for being sent off in the win over defending European champions Italy.
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