Rashford fully fit to face Southampton
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Marcus Rashford has overcome an ankle problem and could start Saturday’s Premier League match against Southampton.
The 21-year-old, who already has 10 goals to his name this season, picked up the knock in last Sunday’s match against Liverpool at Old Trafford, but was forced to play on due to subsequent injuries suffered by Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard.
However, Rashford was able to make a cameo substitute appearance in the 3-1 win at Crystal Palace three days later, and now Solskjaer believes Marcus is back to full health.
“Rashford is fully fit now. I’ll probably start him,” the boss informed the media, at his pre-match press conference at the Aon Training Complex on Friday morning.
“I don’t think there will be many changes,” he continued. “It's the last session today, but we're not going to take any risks, so maybe Anthony [Martial], but it might just be even a few more days before he's ready, so probably the squad will look similar to what it did on Wednesday.
“Maybe one third of them will be Academy kids – maybe even more – so that’s a good point to take out of it.”
The Reds made it a club record eight away wins on the spin at Selhurst Park, but the Norwegian has now turned his attentions to bringing the team’s home form back towards optimum levels.
“It’s about getting back to winning ways at home,” declared Ole. "The Liverpool game was a draw, and the Burnley game before that was a draw, so we need to start picking up more points at home. So that’s the focus now.”
WHAT ABOUT SOUTHAMPTON?
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men have lost just one of their five away games in all competitions during 2019, and head into Saturday’s fixture fresh from a 2-0 win over fellow relegation strugglers Fulham, in what proved to be Claudio Ranieri’s final game in charge of the Cottagers.
Former Liverpool striker Danny Ings missed the game in midweek, due to a hamstring complaint, while an injury of the same nature has ruled out Republic of Ireland international Michael Obafemi for the remainder of the campaign.
Southampton's former record signing, Mario Lemina – who played with Paul Pogba during his time at Juventus – is also a doubt for the clash at Old Trafford.
The Saints are looking to avoid defeat against United for a third successive league match, something they are yet to achieve in the Premier League era.
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