Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim wasn’t interested in praising Marcus Rashford after the loanee forward scored his first two goals for Aston Villa on Sunday. The 27-year-old hadn’t found the net since his brace in United’s 4-0 win against Everton on December 1 before helping Villa cruise past Preston North End in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Unai Emery’s side booked a semi-final meeting with Crystal Palace at Wembley with their 3-0 triumph at Deepdale and also have a Champions League quarter-final tie against Paris Saint-Germain to look forward to. Rashford has shown improvement across his first nine appearances for Villa, registering four assists, which earned him an England recall in Thomas Tuchel’s first squad in March. And now that the former United No. 10’s long wait for a goal is over, he will be laser-focused on helping his new club end a promising season with a flourish.
Amorim banished Rashford for 12 matches before his January exit to Villa Park, having been unhappy with his attitude and application in training.
It seems improbable that the academy graduate will play for his boyhood club again, even if Villa opt against triggering their £40million option to buy.
And Amorim didn’t speak like a coach desperate for the thriving forward to return ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest.
“Like you said, we have a lot of games to play, and I’m focused on my team and my players,” Amorim explained.
“And Rashford is not my player at the moment, but every player that performs well on loan is good news for our club, so we are happy with that.”
Meanwhile, Harry Maguire and Leny Yoro will be at Amorim’s disposal at the City Ground, having returned from injury during the international break.
The United boss confirmed that Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo, Jonny Evans and Ayden Heaven were also nearing returns.
He said: “Luke is not ready yet. We are starting to do some drills with the team, but we are building up Luke.
“Mason Mount is feeling better, but he was already on the bench the last game. Kobbie is almost returning, but he’s not ready for this game.
“Jonny Evans is recovering, Ayden is recovering, Licha [Martinez] is out, I think that’s it. Maguire and Yoro are ready to go for the game.
“Ayden’s injury was not so serious. He’s recovering. He’s not ready to play, but he’s going to return this season, for sure.”
After the daunting test at Forest, United host Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday before travelling to Lyon for the first leg of their crunch Europa League quarter-final.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk