The evening before Marcus Rashford called in sick and skipped Manchester United training this week, he had a night out in Belfast.
Erik ten Hag mentioned on Friday that the forward couldn’t train due to illness before the FA Cup fourth-round match against Newport County on Sunday.
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Rashford’s visit to Belfast included meeting with Northern Irish champions Larne, who recently signed Ro-Shaun Williams, a former United academy star and Rashford’s close friend.
United insisted that video footage of Rashford out on Wednesday night was from the team’s scheduled day off.
Contrary to this, The Athletic reported that Rashford also went to a nightclub on Thursday night, despite having training scheduled for the next morning.
According to the report, he attended Thompsons Garage nightclub on Thursday and returned to Manchester on a private flight on Friday morning.
Despite scoring 30 goals last season, Rashford has struggled to replicate that form this year, managing only four goals. Ten Hag, in his Friday press conference, revealed that Rashford is uncertain for the upcoming fourth-round match against League Two side Newport on Sunday.
‘This morning, Rashford was ill and (Jonny) Evans was ill so we have to see how they recover.’
In November, Rashford celebrated his birthday in Manchester on the same day as his team suffered a 3-0 defeat to rivals Manchester City. Although the event was planned before the game, ten Hag deemed the incident ‘unacceptable.’
‘I spoke with him about it. It is unacceptable. I told them, he apologised and that is it. It is an internal matter,’ the United boss said.
When quizzed further, ten Hag added: “As I say, It is an internal matter.
‘He is fitting in. He is very motivated to put things right. I know how much effort he is putting in. He makes a mistake but that doesn’t say he is not fitting in.
‘He is totally with us. He makes one mistake but also off the pitch what he is doing, how he lives, I am sure he is doing everything right to help the team and to perform and let us win.’
