Jose allays star’s England fears

London – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says Marcus Rashford is getting the experience he needs to progress and the fact that he has not started a league game since December should not affect his chances of being picked for England’s World Cup squad.

Two years after bursting onto the scene at Old Trafford, Rashford (right) has gone on to win 15 caps and become an integral part of the England squad under Gareth Southgate.

The 20-year-old striker has not started in the Premier League since late December and media reported that the situation is causing Southgate concern ahead of friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy.

“You know, if the national coach trusts him, he selects him,” Mourinho told reporters.

“You have the example of (Sergio) Romero, who is the second goalkeeper at Manchester United and the first goalkeeper for such an amazing football country like Argentina.

“In your own country, you have examples of players who play even without scoring a goal in the Premier League. So it’s up to Gareth Southgate. It doesn’t matter if he plays or if he doesn’t play for Manchester United.”

Despite competition from Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata, Rashford has made 38 appearances for United in all competitions this season, including 25 in the league.