Chelsea take on Manchester United this Thursday in their penultimate Premier League game of the 2022/23 season, and Erik ten Hag has now shared some bad news for the Blues.
The Dutchman held his pre-match press conference earlier on Wednesday as the Red Devils attempt to seal their place in next season’s Champions League.
Among the topics of conversation was Marcus Rashford – in our view, Frank Lampard won’t have liked what he heard.
What’s the story?
Well, Ten Hag revealed that the Manchester United No.10 looks fit enough to face Chelsea on Thursday.
As quoted by Manchester United’s official website, the 53-year-old said when asked if Rashford is now fully fit: “It looks like it. Yesterday he returned in training and he looks quite fit but we have to see today what the outcome is from the training, how did he recover. Then we will make our choices.”
Of course, Chelsea have nothing to play for, so Rashford’s availability could be worse for Lampard if there was a European qualification spot on the line for the Blues.
Nevertheless, Chelsea will still hope to end the season on a high and take optimism into the 2023/24 campaign by defeating Manchester United, so news of the England international returning will not be a welcome update.
Rashford has been in sensational form this season with 29 goals and 11 assists across all competitions, although he failed to score in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge back in October.
Rashford could decide Manchester United vs Chelsea
While Rashford is yet to score against the west Londoners this season, he boasts a respectable record in his encounters with Chelsea.
The 25-year-old has previously scored five goals, while also providing three assists, in 16 appearances against the Blues.
Therefore, Rashford could decide Thursday’s clash at Old Trafford.
In general – however – Manchester United do not have a strong record against Chelsea in games where their No.10 has featured.
Rashford has only been on the winning side in four of those 16 outings, drawing seven and losing five.
Having said that, Rashford has enjoyed the best goalscoring campaign of his career so far this term, so his new lease of life could be enough to fire Manchester United to victory.