Man Utd star to miss World Cup opener with knee injury

England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed that Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has sustained an injury that will potentially see him miss his country’s World Cup opener on Monday.

The England manager revealed the 20-year-old striker had picked up a “slight knock” in the Three Lions’ final training session before flying out to Russia on Tuesday, as reported by the Independent.

England, a strong favourite to qualify from Group G, touched down in St Petersburg yesterday with Southgate’s men set to take on Tunisia in their first fixture at the World Cup. They also face debutantes Panama and 2014 quarter-finalists Belgium.

READ MORE: Everton, Leicester and Newcastle fans share views on potentially signing Rashford on loan

Serious questions ought to be asked if England can’t qualify from that group, but hopefully, Rashford recovers in time to play a part.

Southgate revealed Rashford will be assessed by medical staff but is confident the injury is not too serious, but he was still forced to sit out England training on Wednesday.

He is currently the only injury worry in the England squad, which is one of the youngest at the tournament with an average age of 26. Only France (25.6) and Nigeria (25.5) are younger.

Throughout the 2017/18 campaign, the 20-year-old made a total of 52 appearances for United across all competitions, scoring 13 goals and assisting a further nine. That earnt him a spot in Southgate’s 23-man World Cup squad.

This will be his first World Cup — second major international tournament after the 2016 European Championships in France.

More Stories England Gareth Southgate Manchester United Marcus Rashford