Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate insists he has no issue with Marcus Rashford’s decision to head to New York after quitting the England squad.
Manchester United’s in-demand striker has been left out of England’s squad against Italy and Ukraine, missing his fifth of his last six non-World Cup games. He caused widespread astonishment when he posted a photo online of himself, enjoying a holiday on the other side of the Atlantic with his girlfriend after pulling out through injury.
Southgate commented on this: “Rashford is excluded from the available lineup. How he spends his own time depends entirely on him.”
“The pros don’t get a lot of down time. I’m sure some of them would have left immediately after tomorrow night’s game if they had time to spare.”
“We’re always in close contact with the club in terms of injuries and assessments. But it’s also about the individual feelings of each player, so it’s a lot of aspects. I always work with the players to see what’s best for them. Good solution. Of course, we want to have these players and we will always want to work with them as much as possible.”
“In our big lineups, we’re always going to lose a few of them temporarily. And my focus has to be on the team that can play, on how we can win the game.”
Southgate also added praise for Rashford’s state: “Rashford is in a good state. We all hope that he can be an option for this training camp, but we didn’t get him.”
“He’s obviously played a lot for us. He’s played more than 50 times for England, almost 50 since I’ve been manager. So I’ve known him for a long time. I know exactly what he’s got. Ability. It’s nice to see the goal-scoring form he’s in now.”
“For a while in the last few years, he hasn’t been this hot. It’s frustrating for everyone. But he’s in a good place and we hope that continues.”
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