Why Marcus Rashford wasn't involved for Man Utd against Sheffield Utd
- Marcus Rashford left out of Man Utd squad to face Sheffield Utd
- Forward came into the week an injury doubt after FA Cup semi-final
- Erik ten Hag forced to keep naming Academy players on bench
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was forced to leave Marcus Rashford out of his team to face Sheffield United at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
Rashford played 90 minutes of the epic FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City at Wembley over the weekend. But an injury suffered during that contest was enough to rule him out of being involved for the visit of the Blades, which eventually finished 4-2 despite trailing twice, missing out altogether.
On 399 appearances for the club, it will delay his milestone 400th until at least the weekend.
More of Ten Hag's selection decisions were dominated by injuries, forcing his hand.
In Rashford's place, Antony was given the nod for only his second Premier League start of 2024. There had been pre-game suggestions that Amad Diallo might get his first United start since 2021, but that proved not to be the case in the end. Meanwhile, Casemiro was asked to fill in at centre-back alongside Harry Maguire for the second game running.
Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Willy Kambwala are just the defenders currently sidelined with injury.
Further up the pitch, Christian Eriksen came into the midfield, potentially related to reports of new technical director Jason Wilcox seeking a more possession-based style. So important last season, the Dane has largely been a fringe player in recent months and has played only 37 minutes of Premier League football since January prior to kick-off in Sheffield.
Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Sofyan Amrabat and Scott McTominay were all carrying knocks after the weekend, but the former pair started and the latter two were among the subs.
Mason Mount continued to be absent after missing out against Coventry, having only made his return from a four-month absence with a knee problem at the end of March.
The injury crisis means that United's bench severely lacked experience. Louis Jackson, 18, Harry Amass, 17, Habeeb Ogunneye, 18, and Ethan Wheatley, 18, all remained in the squad from Wembley. Wheatley eventually got on the pitch to become the 250th academy graduate to play for the club.
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