Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has been ruthlessly slammed for ‘complaining’ about fixture congestion after Marcus Rashford picked up an injury.
Rashford has been in red-hot form for United since the end of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the England star has been pivotal for Ten Hag’s side this season.
However, the 25-year-old United forward raised concerns for fans after he was forced to come off in his side’s 2-0 victory over Everton on Saturday.
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Rashford signalled to come off after he stretched to try and reach a pass from Christian Eriksen, with Wout Weghorst replacing him in the 81st minute.
Speaking after the match, Ten Hag was not happy with United playing the early kick-off after his side beat Brentford 1-0 at Old Trafford three days earlier.
“It’s too much, especially when you play last Sunday night and then the first game on the Saturday,” he said.
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“In the week, you have to make the game against Brentford, the game instead of the Carabao Cup. So, you get punished for reaching the final, so it is not right.
“It is like this when you have to play so many games in short notice, especially when the schedule is this tight. Players can’t recover and you run the risk that players can get injured.
“You have to be aware of that. You can’t say [exactly what has happened with Rashford], even when you speak to him. We have to wait until tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, then we will see what is the diagnosis.”
According to ESPN Brasil, Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira has now told Ten Hag to “shut up” after attributing Rashford’s injury to United’s run of fixtures.
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“Football here has fantastic things, but there are others that are inhuman,” he said.
“[We have to play] nine games in one month! The Manchester United coach complained the other day that Rashford was injured due to the sequence of games he has.
“I’d like to ask him or tell him: ‘In these next two months, I’m going to have nine games a month.’ Shut up, because you don’t know what you say.”
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Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United, Marcus Rashford, Football, England, Premier League
Adnan Riaz