Marcus Rashford hobbled in Manchester United's 2-0 win over Everton last weekend, with Erik ten Hag sweating over the availability of his top scorer
Manchester United are not betting on Marcus Rashford's fitness for Thursday's Europa League draw with Sevilla.
Rashford, United's top scorer this season with 28 goals, came off late in Saturday's 2-0 win over Everton with a groin injury.
The England striker underwent a CT scan on Tuesday and is likely to miss the quarter-final first leg at Old Trafford on Thursday as a precaution. United do not want to rush to buy Rashford and risk losing him much longer at such a crucial stage of the season.
The 25-year-old will only play if United's medical team decides that there is no risk of aggravating the existing problem. Rashford has withdrawn from England's first Euro 2024 qualifying round after suffering an injury, and United are aware of the need to protect their star striker.
After United's win over Everton, Ten Hag was asked about the extent of Rashford's injury and said:
"I can't say at the moment. Obviously he's gone and we have to wait for the results of the diagnosis and we'll see.
He added:
"Some things you can't avoid, but it can be avoided. Why did the Premier League let us play a late game on Sunday night [last week against Newcastle] and let us play an early game on Saturday. ? I think that's not good.
"You take a risk, players can't recover that fast, we know all the studies that players need a certain amount of time to recover and that adds up. So you even have It's also part of the schedule that we now find ourselves in this situation and now we can only pray that he won't let go."
Erik ten Hag's side won the Carabao Cup this season and went on to compete in the FA Cup and Europa League, as well as in the hunt for a place in the top four.
Although Rashford has been one of United's best performers this season, Ten Hag still has other options to use in his absence, particularly striker Anthony Martial. Martial has been familiar with the injury for much of the season, but scored on Saturday, with his first Premier League goal since December.
Luke Shaw was unavailable for the win over Everton after picking up an injury in United's 1-0 win over Brentford last week.
Casemiro is free to play in Europe despite the suspension of the Premier League
Christian Eriksen is back after a two-month absence at the weekend, while Casemiro - who has just one game left to serve a four-match domestic suspension - could feature against Sevilla.
But the Brazilian midfielder will need to be disciplined as he is only one yellow card away from being suspended for the second leg, just like Bruno Fernandes. Alejandro Garnacho, Tom Heaton and Donny van de Beek are all sidelined with injuries. Sevilla enter the clash after a tense encounter in La Liga that saw them take a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Celta Vigo on Friday night. Recently appointed coach Jose Luis Mendilibar remained unbeaten in the game but had to settle for a point after his men conceded twice in the closing minutes.
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