United sweat over Rashford’s fitness
MANCHESTER:IN-FORM striker Marcus Rashford is a doubt for Manchester United’s trip to Premier League leaders Liverpool, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Thursday.
Rashford, scorer of 14 league goals this season, injured his back after coming on as a substitute in United’s FA Cup replay win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday.
“He’ll be tested in the next few days—we have to see for Sunday,” Solskjaer told a news conference. “I didn’t want to play him (against Wolves). I think he got a knock, a knee or something, in his back, but he’s been struggling for a little while. That’s why we’ve kept him away (from starting against Wolves), but we needed the win. He was involved in the goal, so that was a positive, but it backfired.”
Losing Rashford would be a big blow for United against a Liverpool side who have won 20 of their 21 Premier League games this season and lead the table by 14 points. Only United have taken points off Liverpool this season, drawing 1-1 at Old Trafford in October when Rashford scored.
“He’s been absolutely top this season so we’ll do anything and everything we can to get him fit for Sunday. If he’s not, then we’ll play without him,” Solskjaer said.
ARSENAL AWAITING SECURITY DECISION
LONDON:ARSENAL will assess security measures before giving the all-clear to a mid-season training camp in Dubai during the club’s two-week winter break, manager Mikel Arteta said.
Premier League sides have often used venues in the Middle East for warm weather training, but Manchester United have scrapped plans to travel in the wake of an American air strike at Baghdad airport that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
Arsenal had been set for a fourday camp ahead of their match against Newcastle but Arteta said security would dictate where the squad ends up going.
“The security decision will be the priority. If we are advised by the club and the people making those decisions that it’s not safe we won’t be going anywhere. We still have a few things to look after from a club perspective and when we know all that we will confirm what we are doing,” he said.