Marcus Rashford has been carrying an injury since February | OneFootball

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has been playing with a minor injury since February it has been revealed.

Henry Winter (The Times) wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the 26-year-old has been “carrying a slight knock since the Forest game”.

Winter is a journalist who has been granted access to St George’s Park for the international break – the training ground of the England national team.

Last week, The Times reporter revealed Luke Shaw had travelled to St George’s Park to join up with his England teammates, despite the left-back long-term hamstring injury.

Winter indicated Shaw was continuing his rehabilitation with manager Gareth Southgate later indicating his medical staff had also carried out an assessment of the defender’s condition.

But it is Shaw’s partner in crime on the left-hand side for United who is now believed to also be carrying a minor injury.

Erik ten Hag’s side played Nottingham Forest on February 28 in the fifth round of the FA Cup, emerging as 1-0 victors in a hard-fought match, courtesy of a late header by Casemiro.

However, at one point in the second-half, Rashford was sandwiched between two Forest defenders as he bore down on goal. The forward was left in a heap on the floor as a result and, on another day, could easily have been awarded a penalty.

Given Rashford’s reaction immediately after was one of considerable pain, it is likely this moment which has caused the persistent injury over the past four weeks that Winter is referring to.

Five days after this incident, United travelled to the Etihad to play local rivals Manchester City.

In the game, Rashford scored one of the goals of the season, but his general performance was sluggish and ineffective. The forward endured a lot of criticism from fans for what they perceived as a player not working hard.

This new information of Rashford carrying a knock from the previous game may help to better contextualise his performance, or lack thereof. It would not be the first time in Rashford’s career he has played through injury for his boyhood club.

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.