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Erik ten Hag will make a final decision on Marcus Rashford and his other returning stars on the day of Manchester United’s Europa League clash against Sevilla.
The 25-year-old scored 28 goals during a glittering season which some feared could be ended by a lengthy lay-off after he stopped holding his groin against Everton 11 days ago.
United allayed the concerns announcing Rashford would only be expected to miss «a few games», although Ten Hag last week admitted he wasn’t sure how much time the striker would miss.
The England international sat out a chaotic 2-2 first leg draw with Sevilla and Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League win against Nottingham Forest but has made a swift return to the fold.
Rashford trained with his team mates at Carrington on Wednesday morning and was part of the 21-man squad that made the trip to Spain for the second leg of the quarter-finals.
Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Marcel Sabitzer have also made the squad following their injuries, with Ten Hag saying of the foursome: “They’re available because that’s why they’re on the plane.
“But I will make my decisions tomorrow. We trained today, we’ll see what the reaction will be and then tomorrow we’ll make the decision.»
Pushed on Rashford, the United boss said: “All players, you want to keep all players fit, so that’s always a focus as well as obviously the main focus to win the game.
«He’s had one session with the team, but he’s had a few sessions before individually.»
The quartet’s return to the squad is a welcome boost for a side traveling to Spain without some key players.
Bruno Fernandes is suspended after picking up a booking in last week’s first leg which saw first-choice centre-back Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez pick up injuries.
Sevilla capitalized on that interruption and recovered from a shock start to snatch a last-gasp equalizer thanks to late own goals from Malacia and Harry Maguire.
The abolition of away goals softens the blow, but United must now improve their performance against six-time Europa League winners Sevilla at the hostile Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.
«It’s a draw over two legs,» said Ten Hag. “I think we play quite well for over 60 minutes and then in the last 30 minutes we let the bar down and became passive.
“It’s not acceptable, we know that, and you see what happens when you only play 60 minutes.
“You can’t do it and when you do you get punished, so we have to be aware of that.
“We have to use emotion as a tool, but you also have to control it.
«You have to put it at the right moment, so the timing for this is important and this is especially in big games, you have to know when to use it and when you definitely don’t.»
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