The 25-year-old England international was replaced after 57 minutes by Dutch manager Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag provided an update on Marcus Rashford’s fitness following Manchester United’s Carabao Cup win over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, with the forward being substituted after taking what appeared to be an elbow to the chest.
Rashford scored after just six minutes in the first leg of the semi-final, giving him ten goals in ten games, the most of any player for clubs in Europe’s big five leagues following the World Cup in Qatar.
The 25-year-old England international was replaced after 57 minutes by Dutch manager Ten Hag, who chose to rest him and replace him with Alejandro Garnacho.
In his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Ten Hag was asked about the elbow incident and insisted that Rashford was fine.
‘We had already planned the replacement,’ he explained. ‘Marcus Rashford did his job and scored another goal, so we were in a good position,’ said the manager.
‘Alejandro Garnacho is really hungry to play games, get minutes, and make the team.’
‘I’m happy with the performance, and I think we controlled it over 90 minutes,’ Ten Hag said of United’s win over Forest.
‘There was one moment that could have changed the game, and that is where we need to improve, but overall, we controlled it.
‘They changed the system, which we were not expecting. It’s not going to happen.
‘That is still a time when we need to learn and grow as a team if we want to be at the top. Those moments are not possible.
‘We almost let them back into the game, and we can’t let an opponent back into the game after we started so well.
‘We dictated it completely, but it can change in an instant. That is something we must avoid.
‘I think we were much more composed and tracked them in the second half. It was a lot better.’