Marcus Rashford.

Rashford out of England internationals

Monday 08 November 2021 16:00

Marcus Rashford will remain with Manchester United in order to concentrate on regaining full fitness as England face their final two World Cup qualifiers.

Gareth Southgate's side are preparing for the games, against Albania, at Wembley, on Friday, and an away tie at San Marino next Monday.

The Reds are next in action on Saturday 20 November, with a trip to Watford in the Premier League.

Rashford made a successful return last month, following rehabilitation from shoulder surgery in the summer, scoring the first of three goals since his comeback when coming off the bench at Leicester City. He also found the net in the wins against Atalanta and Tottenham.

However, the homegrown talent was unable to train after the Champions League draw at Atalanta, due to illness.

Our no.10 was cleared to be on the bench for the Manchester derby and came on in the second half of the 2-0 loss, replacing Mason Greenwood after 66 minutes.

Yet he remains short of full fitness as he has been building up his game-time for United and has still to complete a full 90 minutes since the enforced lay-off.

Indeed, his last full appearance domestically for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men was the 3-1 victory at Aston Villa on 9 May, although he did play the entirety of the Europa League final, including extra time, against Villarreal. He did not get a full 90 minutes with England after the penalty shoot-out loss in Gdansk.

Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire were also named in the England squad for the two international fixtures, although Shaw needed to be replaced in the second half of the derby due to a head injury. The left-back is being monitored by club medical staff, following the FA return-to-play protocol, and England are being kept updated on progress.

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