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Marcus Rashford: England star WITHDRAWS from Three Lions squad - could miss Man Utd games
MANCHESTER UNITED star Marcus Rashford has withdrawn from the England squad with an ankle injury.
Euro 2020: Rashford 'won't be ready' says Gareth Southgate
Marcus Rashford will miss both games against Czech Republic and Montenegro as England get their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign underway.
The forward sustained the injury during United’s 0-0 stalemate with Liverpool in the Premier League last month.
And the ankle injury, if aggravated to a severe extent, could cause Rashford to miss important upcoming games for Manchester United as well.
The Red Devils have two Champions League quarter-final legs against Barcelona coming up, as well as vital league games where they’re still in the race for the top four.
United play Watford on their return from the international break, before a trip to Wolves at the start of April.
They then face Barcelona twice within six days, with a league clash with West Ham sandwiched in between.
At the World Cup, Rashford struggled for game time but scored a crucial penalty in the last 16 shootout win over Colombia.
He also scored a brilliant goal against Spain in Seville during England’s 3-2 Uefa Nations League win.
Rashford has previously trained away from the rest of his England team-mates after doubts about his ankle emerged.
He’s been playing through the pain since he picked up the injury against Liverpool.
The injury is a huge blow to England as Rashford has scored 15 goals for United this season while registering six assists.
England boss Gareth Southgate had his say on the situation, noting that it was clear the 21-year-old simply wouldn’t be ready in time to play.
"He's been with our medical team all week. We've tried to progress his training through the week, so he did some running with them,” Southgate said.
"But it's clear to us he's not going to be ready for our matches.
“So we're going to send him back to the club. He's out of the two games."
Raheem Sterling also missed a session earlier this week after medics assessed his workload.
But the Manchester City forward has since been deemed fit to play in both games for the Three Lions.