Manchester United have suffered a big setback with the suspension of Marcus Rashford in the UEFA Champions League. This follows his red card in the UCL against FC Copenhagen earlier this month. In a statement, UEFA confirmed the same.
Rashford’s red card proved decisive in the 4-3 loss. England forward dismissed after going over the ball and clashing with Elias Jelert’s ankle. The forward will miss Galatasaray’s away game on Wednesday. He will, however, be able to participate in United’s home game against Bayern Munich on December 12.
Rashford might have received a harsher punishment from UEFA for the second red card of his United career. However, his challenge on Elias Jelert did not warrant a two-game penalty. Erik ten Hag was enraged at the decision, and his team went on to lose badly against the Danish champions.
The setback has pushed the Red Devils to the brink of elimination from the Champions League group stages, with Ten Hag blaming the loss on a red card. A loss against Galatasaray might be the end of their prospects of reaching the last 16.
And manager Erik ten Hag may be compelled to mount an improvised offensive in Istanbul. Rasmus Hojlund is questionable for Sunday’s game against Everton due to a muscular issue. He has scored all five of United’s goals in the Champions League.
Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, and Tyrell Malacia are all out in the foreseeable future. As a result, now with Rashford’s absence, United will be without at least five senior players in Turkey.
However, on a positive note Left-back Luke Shaw, who has been injured since August, will make his comeback against Everton. Even custodian Andre Onana is healthy after suffering an injury while on international duty with Cameroon, but Mason Mount and Jonny Evans remain concerns.
