Football
Arindam Rej, Man United Correspondent 8y

Marcus Rashford set for England debut vs. Australia if fit - Roy Hodgson

England manager Roy Hodgson is considering handing a debut to Marcus Rashford if the Manchester United striker recovers from a knee injury in time for Friday's friendly match against Australia.

Rashford, 18, was substituted in the 72nd minute of United's 2-1 win over Crystal Palace in Saturday's FA Cup final at Wembley, having given an impressive display before being replaced by Ashley Young.

He had been named in Hodgson's provisional 26-man squad for Euro 2016 the previous Monday, then scored on Tuesday in United's 3-1 league win against Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

Due to his FA Cup final commitments, Rashford was not due to be involved in Sunday's match against Turkey, which England won 2-1, but the national team play again against the Socceroos at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.

When asked if Rashford would be given his England debut this week, Hodgson told reporters: "We will wait and see. We don't know how fit he will be. He took a nasty knock.

"He will join up with us but we'll have to assess that. If he is fit, we can see what we can do from Monday to Friday, but it would be nice to give him some game time.

"We are trying to win these games as well, so we might have to make our decisions more in terms of what we need to do to win the game, rather than just giving people game time, unless we feel he deserves that game time.

"But you will also know full well that where he is playing we actually have a lot of competition for places and there isn't an awful lot of chance for him to stamp his authority on myself and the coaching staff, because there is such a short period of time.

"I am ruling nothing out and I thought his performance in the FA Cup final was very good. I'm delighted I shall be seeing him but we will have to wait to see whether I will be seeing a lot of him in the summer."

Hodgson now has his full squad available. Rashford and United teammates Wayne Rooney and Chris Smalling were not involved in Sunday's friendly win over Turkey due its proximity with the FA Cup final, while Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge, Adam Lallana, James Milner and Nathaniel Clyne also reported later following the Europa League final.

Questions have been asked over where captain Rooney will best fit into the side given the form of the likes of Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane and Dele Alli, but Hodgson is certainly happy enough with his recent form.

Hodgson said of Rooney's FA Cup final display: "It was good, wasn't it? He had a good spell. I was really delighted to see him run with the ball towards the end.

"In the beginning he was concentrating on his passing but he actually got hold of the ball in the second half and ran with it, producing that fantastic run and cross. That's the Wayne Rooney we are hoping to see in the Euros.''

Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville has already drawn comparisons between Rashford and ex-England striker Michael Owen's situation at the start of his career.

Neville told BBC Radio 5Live: "We've got good experience, with players who've been in the England squad for the last two years, but what I would say is that, in 1998, I didn't think that Michael Owen was going to go the World Cup.

"You just never know, a sensational performance -- and he's got it in him because his temperament's so good -- could just give Roy Hodgson that nudge."

Information from PA Sport was used in this story.

^ Back to Top ^