Solskjaer confirms major blow as Man Utd star is ruled out for at least 2 months

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed Marcus Rashford is facing an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a double stress fracture in his back.

Rashford has been playing through the pain barrier as he’s been carrying a back injury in recent weeks but was still brought on as a second half substitute during United’s victory over Wolves at Old Trafford in their FA Cup third round reply on Wednesday night.

Unfortunately, the 22-year-old aggravated the issue during his cameo appearance in midweek and was forced off just 15 minutes after coming off the bench following a collision with Matt Doherty.

The Telegraph claims Rashford went into the Wolves game carrying a single stress fracture in his back and scans have shown the injury has now progressed to a double fracture following the FA Cup clash.

The newspaper says Rashford will be on the sidelines for two to three months meaning he isn’t due to return to action until March at the earliest, which will come as a major blow to Manchester United.

Speaking after United’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, Solskjaer confirmed Rashford’s injury and says the striker is expected to be out for six weeks before he can even begin his rehabilitation programme.

Solskjaer told ManUtd.com:

“He got a couple of knocks and jolts when he came on against Wolves and aggravated his back. It’s a stress fracture and it’s not something that’s happened before. It’s so unlucky for Marcus, he’ll be out for a while.

“He’s had some trouble before and we’re going to give him time to recover and rest before we put him back on the pitch. He won’t be back until after the mid-season break. I don’t know long it is, I’m not a doctor but normally a stress fracture is six weeks to heal and then he needs some recovery or some rehab after that probably.

The news of Rashford’s injury will be a devastating blow to Manchester United’s hopes of finishing in the top four this season as he’s been a key player for the Red Devils having provided 19 goals and 5 assists in all competitions so far.

The forward joins Paul Pogba on the sidelines with the Frenchman recovering from ankle surgery while Scott McTominay is also working his way back to full fitness following a knee ligament injury so United will have to cope without three key players for the foreseeable future.

Rashford will now be desperate to get himself back in action as soon as possible to help United push for a top four finish during the closing weeks of the season and he’ll also hope they remain in the FA Cup and Europa League so he can take part in the latter rounds of those competitions, too.