Marcus Rashford limped off in Thursday’s Europa League play-off win over Barcelona and has scored 13 goals in 15 appearances in all competitions since the World Cup; watch United on Sunday from 3pm Game against Newcastle; 4.30pm start
Marcus Rashford: Man Utd boss Erik X Hager unsure if striker will play in Carabao Cup final
Marcus Rashford limped off in Thursday’s Europa League play-off win over Barcelona and has scored 13 goals in 15 appearances in all competitions since the World Cup; watch United on Sunday from 3pm Game against Newcastle; 4.30pm start
Erik ten Hag is unsure if Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford is fit to face Newcastle in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
Rashford, who limped away from Old Trafford in Thursday’s Europa League play-off win over Barcelona, has been United’s star man since the World Cup, scoring 15 times in all competitions 13 balls.
But Ten Hag now faces an urgent wait to find out the fitness of his top scorer as he looks to end Man Utd’s six-year wait for the trophy.
“I don’t know if [Rashford is available],” Ten Hag said ahead of Sunday’s game.
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“The players are coming in now and we have to do medical tests. We did some yesterday, but that was shortly after the game, so most of the time you can’t tell. You have to wait for a 100 per cent medical diagnosis.”
Anthony Martial has been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Newcastle.
‘Newcastle wasting time trying to annoy you’
United were frustrated by Newcastle in their other clash earlier this season as Eddie Howe’s side forced them to a goalless draw at Old Trafford.
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Ten Hag has been impressed with Howe’s work, but admits Newcastle can “try to annoy you”.
“I think it’s a great team,” the Dutchman added. “They have a clear idea of how to play the game and the key word is intensity. It’s a nasty team.
“So we have to find a way to win games. We have to make sure we play our game and focus on our game.”
Asked if Newcastle’s time-wasting tactics were behind his annoyance, Ten Hag added: “Referees want to play efficient time. They have the lowest time in the league and have been very successful.
“So it’s up to us whether we can go faster in the game. We also depend on the referees.”
In January, a Sky Sports investigation revealed that Newcastle had the second-worst percentage of minutes played in the Premier League and had received the second-most yellow cards (five) for wasting time.
“We have to test Karius”
Newcastle face a goalkeeping crisis in Sunday’s Wembley final – their first since their 1999 FA Cup final loss to Manchester United – with Nick Pope and deputy Martin Dubravka unavailable.
Pope was suspended after being sent off against Liverpool on Saturday, while Dubravaca won the cup after playing for United during a short-term loan at Old Trafford earlier this season.
Newcastle are expected to feature with former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius, who made two errors in the 2018 Champions League final loss to Real Madrid that led to the goal.
“This is a problem they need to solve,” Ten Witches added. “Obviously we know. It’s definitely not an advantage. We have to test it, it’s very obvious.”
Watch Manchester United v Newcastle on Sunday live on Sky Sports Football from 3pm; 4.30pm start