Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has reiterated his commitment to England, following the backlash he received after pulling out of international duty and making a short trip to New York back in March.
Rashford was named in England’s squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine.
He however had to pull out after sustaining a minor injury during United’s FA Cup quarter-final clash against Fulham.
Rashford then jetted to New York for a small break with his partner – something which attracted criticism from certain sections of the media.
England boss Gareth Southgate publicly backed Rashford. The United academy graduate is back in the Three Lions squad that is preparing to face Malta and North Macedonia on Friday and Monday, respectively.
The United star was asked whether the criticism hurt. He responded, “Honestly it doesn’t. I know I am committed 100 per cent so people are going to say what they want to say.”
“I didn’t see it (the criticism) to be honest until I got home. But I need time to switch off and recover so I took a short trip — four days — and then went back to do rehab and try to get ready as soon as possible.”
Rashford added, “With these injuries, you can’t predict when they are going to happen. Thankfully I have very few muscle strains but occasionally you do get impact injuries.”
The 25-year-old also took issue with the football schedule which leaves little time for players to physically recover.
Rashford said that it’s unfair that clubs like United are constrained to play three games a week and then required to compete against teams with only one game every seven days.
“The players are going to push themselves to the absolute limits” he said. “It is nothing new, it is not a complaint or a dig, I am just giving my honest opinion.”
He called for something to be done so as to protect the players and their interests to ensure they’re always in top condition.