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Rashford injury clouds 'excellent' equaliser as Solskjaer provides updates on Man Utd medical woes
The forward limped off early against Brighton, while centre-back Eric Bailly was diagnosed with Covid
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was left concerned by Marcus Rashford's latest injury, which forced the forward off in the 72nd minute of a 2-1 win over Brighton not long after he had provided an "excellent" tide-turning equaliser.
Rashford has dealt with significant shoulder, foot and knee problems this year, and it's been suggested by his agency that he hasn't been fully fit since 2019.
Solskjaer was unable to provide immediate assurances on the 23-year-old and said he hoped his "tough" player could recover soon. The manager also revealed a separate setback for the Red Devils, telling reporters that defender Eric Bailly had been diagnosed with Covid-19 during the international break.
What injury updates were given?
"You just hope he can recover from it," Solskjaer told BBC of Rashford. "He had to come off, but he's a tough one."
He added of Rashford's goal: "The finish was excellent - calm and composed. Marcus has been working on that a lot."
On Bailly, Solskjaer said, "Eric won’t be with us for a little while he’s tested positive for Covid and isn’t back in the country yet."
England withdrawl
Rashford's early substitution against Brighton came after he had been withdrawn from England camp during the international break because of injury.
And in his final match for Manchester United before the break - a Europa League clash with AC Milan on March 18 - he was forced off at half-time because of an ongoing foot issue.
Bigger picture
The health problems are starting to stack up for Rashford in 2020-21, and while he hasn't suffered a major injury yet this campaign, repeated knocks present cause for long-term concern. He's a key part of what Manchester United are trying to build, and the club needs to make sure his body holds up through the years to come.
With forward Anthony Martial potentially out for the season, however, Solskjaer may face the temptation to be aggressive with Rashford's recovery timeline given his thin attacking depth and loaded fixture list.
