Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has revealed that an illness is likely to keep Marcus Rashford out for Sunday's trip to Liverpool.
Exile ahead returned to his first match squad against Newcastle United on Monday night. Rashford was left on the bench as his team-mates suffered a dismantling in front of their fans, eventually escaping with a 2-0 loss.
Amorim explained that the Englishman – who had missed the previous four games amid intense speculation about an imminent exit – had always been available for selection, but noted that “we have a lot of players out”. Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte were both suspended for the club's fourth straight defeat on Monday but are available again for the trip to Anfield.
Rashford is likely to miss the upcoming trip along the M62 through illness. “At the moment he is sick, he is not training,” Amorim told the assembled media on Friday. “I think he'll be out this week. We'll see.”
Rashford sparked heated rumors linking him with a move away after giving an interview last month which revealed his desire for “a new challenge”. After weeks of incessant transfer rumours, the striker crashed the conversation as “funny” and “fake”.
This has not stopped the constant wave of speculation. Few of Europe's elite clubs are thought to be able – or willing – to finance a move for Rashford and his hefty wages, leaving the Saudi Pro League as his most likely destination. However, the 27-year-old has reportedly turned down the offers from three Saudi Arabian clubs this month, rejecting wages thought to be worth up to £35m a year.
A move to La LigaBarcelona, in particular, are said to be Rashford's preferred outcome of this exhausting saga, but the Catalans don't have the funds to even fund a loan deal.
As the United academy graduate faces another week on the sidelines, his future remains as uncertain as ever.