Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has given a more positive update on the fitness of Marcus Rashford. The 22-year-old has been out with a back injury since January, and there were concerns that he may not return before the end of the season.
However, Solskjaer says there is now a possibility that he could return in April, as originally predicted, but the nature of the injury means it is very hard to tell how quickly progress will be made in his recovery:
“As [with] any player, he wants to be fit as quickly as possible and play as soon as possible. If that means playing in April, if he’ll be fit for us towards the end of the season, fantastic. If it takes longer, it takes longer.”
“We just have to be sensible with it because we’re going to have Marcus playing here for many, many years. The scans were encouraging. He’s now working in the gym and in the pool, and he’s moving around better. He’s in and around the place. It’s like how long is a piece of rope? It’s difficult.”
Some fans on Twitter are happy to hear the good news about Rashford:
Great news
— Bra~Porty??? (@kagiso_portable) 4 March 2020
We need this guy back
— Samuel Akiode (@samuelakiode123) 4 March 2020
YESSS
— (fan) (@InvertedFWD) 4 March 2020
Hopefully he’s back soon
— E.P.Muldoon Building (@EPM_BuildingLtd) 4 March 2020
— G (@Westbrook00MVP) 4 March 2020
That would be great if he could be back before the end of the season. We're missing his goals!
— Abigail Kay ?? (@ItsAbiKay) 4 March 2020
However, other supporters don’t want United to rush the England international back to fitness:
Don't rush him
— P! (@KawumaBulayimu) 4 March 2020
Don't rush and risk him getting injured again. He can really come back next season.
— Uchiha Itachi (@SageTheAlkemist) 4 March 2020
It's okay if he doesn't play again this season. Let him come back fully fit.
— ?⚫ (@FergusonTime) 4 March 2020
Don't rush the guy. He needs to be fully fit.
— M…..K (@bekoemark) 4 March 2020
Solskjaer’s comments do sound promising, but it is still difficult to know how much of a part he will play this campaign. If he can return in the closing weeks of the season, though, it could boost United’s chances of sealing a top-four finish.