Erik ten Hag has guided Manchester United back into safe territory in the race to qualify for next season’s Champions League, with the Reds responding to a three-game winless streak by beating Brentford and Everton at Old Trafford.
The two wins boosted United into third in the Premier League but they may have come at a cost, with Marcus Rashford seen limping off the pitch just minutes after assisting the second goal.
Rashford has scored 28 goals this season and is on course to become the first player to hit the 30-goal mark in one single season since Sir Alex Ferguson retired 10 years ago.
The 25-year-old immediately signalled to come off after sustaining what looked to be a groin injury and speaking after the game, Ten Hag has hit out at the intense fixture schedule.
“It’s too much,” Ten Hag told the BBC, via the official Manchester United website.
“Especially when you play last Sunday night and then the first game on the Saturday. In the week, you have to make the game against Brentford, the game instead of the Carabao Cup. So you get punished for reaching the final, so it is not right.
“I don’t know [about Marcus]. It is like this when you have to play so many games in short notice, especially when the schedule is this tight. Players can’t recover and you run the risk that players can get injured. You have to be aware of that.
“You can’t say [exactly what has happened], even when you speak to him. We have to wait until tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, then we will see what is the diagnosis.”
Ten Hag is understandably annoyed at the scheduling, especially considering United were in action on Wednesday evening and were still made to play the early kick-off on Saturday.
Rashford has become the latest key first-team player to succumb to injury, with Christian Eriksen, Anthony Martial and Alejandro Garnacho all sustaining serious injuries in the second half of the season.
Hopefully, we will receive some good news on Rashford’s injury in the next couple of days but as things stand, it does not look promising for the United talisman.
