Bad News for Man United funs as Erick Ten Hag confirm one forward to miss the Sunday’s Wembley final
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been asked for an update on the fitness of Marcus Rashford ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final.
The Reds take on Newcastle United at Wembley (16:30 GMT KO), with a first piece of silverware in Ten Hag’s reign being the target.
It remains to be seen whether Rashford will be in the final squad, after he was substituted during Thursday’s win over Barcelona over Old Trafford, having seemingly picked up a problem.
Only 14 hours after the second-leg victory, Erik met the media again, for his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s final.
There, in the first part of that media briefing, the boss was asked if Rashford will be fit for the Wembley outing, and he responded: “I don’t know.
“Players are now coming in [to Carrington], we have to do investigations, medical [checks]. Straight after a game you can’t say, you have to wait for medical [checks].”
Ten Hag also went on to rule Anthony Martial out of the final.
The French forward hasn’t played for the Reds since his goalscoring cameo off the bench in the semi-final second leg of the Carabao Cup, at home to Nottingham Forest.
“No, he will not be available,” Erik told reporters.
On a more positive note, Antony and Harry Maguire returned to the matchday squad for the win over Barça, with the former notably coming on to net the winner in the second half.
Casemiro also returned to action, after serving the third and final match of his three-game suspension in domestic competition, that saw him miss our recent Premier League games against Leeds United – home and away – and Leicester City.
Christian Eriksen and Donny van de Beek are long-term absentees.
NEWCASTLE’S TEAM NEWS
The Magpies will be without first-choice goalkeeper Nick Pope, who is suspended after picking up a red card in their recent Premier League loss to Liverpool. Fellow stopper Martin Dubravka is cup-tied, having represented United in the competition during his loan spell at Old Trafford earlier this season.
Eddie Howe is therefore likely to either hand a competitive Newcastle debut to former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius, or pick Mark Gillespie, who last played between the posts for the club’s senior side in September 2020.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference earlier this week, Howe was hopeful midfielders Joelinton and Joe Willock would be fit to feature, despite sustaining injuries in outings against Liverpool and Bournemouth respectively, earlier this month. Swedish defender Emil Krafth is a long-term absentee.
