Marcus Rashford is set to be again absent for Manchester United for their daunting trip to Anfield on Sunday.
Rashford has not played since December 12 and was left out of four successive matchday squads before an appearance as an unused substitute in the last game of 2024 - a home defeat to Newcastle last Monday.
It appeared certain that Rashford would leave in January, with the 27-year-old hinting at being prepared for a "new challenge" in an interview with Henry Winter. In addition, new head coach Ruben Amorim hinted at off-field issues for the Englishman.
His return to the bench against Newcastle was surprising and was made all the more so by Amorim's decision not to bring him off the bench with United 2-0 down.
Amorim appeared to confirm that he will once again be absent for Sunday's game against Liverpool, saying Rashford has not trained in recent days due to illness.
It appears as though we will not see Rashford in a United shirt again any time soon, and a fresh report from the Athletic alleges that a recurrence of an issue from last season is behind his absence.
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Reports allege another night out was first issue for Marcus Rashford and Ruben Amorim
Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic reported on Saturday morning that the rift between Marcus Rashford and Ruben Amorim could stem from a disagreement after the 4-0 win over Everton in early December, in which Rashford scored twice.
Rashford was reportedly seen out on the town in Manchester less than 48 hours before that game, which remains his last Premier League start for the club. When quizzed on the night out by his coach after the Everton game, Rashford reportedly assured his coach that he had received erroneous information.
However, similar reports preceded the derby against Manchester City on Sunday, December 15, with Rashford allegedly reporting for Saturday training fatigued, after another alleged night out on Friday. His underperformance in training saw him left out of the matchday squad, a trend continued for the following three games.
Whitwell says that personnel close to Rashford have strongly denied the accusations, which are reminiscent of the highly-publicised Belfast nights out which saw him dropped by Erik ten Hag last season.
Amorim spoke on his out-of-favour forward in a one-on-one interview with Sky Sports on Friday.
He has been diplomatic when discussing the prospect of a return to the team, and continued that trend by saying that Rashford needs to show more desire in training if he is to return to the setup.
I have already spoken a lot about Marcus. But it depends more on him than on me.
He has to want it really, really bad. He is here, he is in our squad, so he is our player and he is ready to play if I decide.
One thing seems certain and that is that Marcus Rashford will not be involved at Anfield on Sunday. Whether he will play again for Manchester United under Ruben Amorim remains hugely uncertain at this stage.
