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Marcus Rashford of Manchester United is injured in the FA Cup game against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, January 15, 2020. /VCG
Manchester United learned bad news right before their first-leg UEFA Europa League game against Club Brugge KV on Thursday. Ole Solskjaer, the Red Devils' manager told reporters at the pre-game press conference that Marcus Rashford, the team's No. 1 striker, may be ruled out for the season.
"We can't rush him. Hopefully he will play again this season but it will be touch and go towards the end," said Solskjaer.
Since Man United sent Romelu Lukaku to Inter Milan last summer, 22-year-old Rashford became the team's most reliable offensive weapon, scoring 19 goals and five assists so far this season.
Marcus Rashford of Manchester United dribbles the ball in the FA Cup game against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford, January 15, 2020. /VCG
However, Rashford suffered a double back stress fracture in the FA Cup game against Wolverhampton Wanderers in January and has been out of any game since then. Though Man United said that he would only be out for two to three months, it does not seem likely for him to come back in any near future.
Rashford (likely) being ruled out for the rest of the season could be devastating for the Red Devils. The team currently are eighth on the ranking table and only scored 38 goals in 26 games. By contrast, the top four teams, Liverpool, Manchester City, Leicester City and Chelsea, scored 61, 67, 54 and 43 goals respectively - even the fifth, Tottenham Hotspur, got 43 goals. Underperforming offense has already become a problem that Man United cannot afford to ignore anymore.
Moreover, the team missed their opportunity to fix that problem during the winter transfer window. They did not introduce any strikers and wanted to rely what they have, namely Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood. However, so far, that pair does not seem to be working well.
Marcus Rashford #19 of England receives the ball in the FIFA World Cup game against Belgium at Saint Petersburg Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 14, 2018. /VCG
England's manager Gareth Southgate will not like the news either. The Three Lions are attending the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship in June and they only have limited time to prepare for it since most of their players are with top clubs. Furthermore, the other starting striker of England, Harry Kane, is currently also suffering from injuries, making it unlikely that The Three Lions won't go as far as they are expected to.