Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka will both miss England World Cup Qualifiers against Albania and Poland due to injury.
Rashford missed England’s Thursday match against Sam Marino, which ended in 5-0 to England, due to a foot injury. However it seems that the 23-year-old forward will not be fit to return to the international stage anytime soon and will instead continue his recovery process at Manchester United.
Arsenal player Bukayo Saka will also miss England’s upcoming qualifiers due to a hamstring injury that the 19-year-old footballer picked up against Tottenham Hotspur, where he was pulled off at half-time. Despite this, Saka played 74 minutes against West Ham United, a fast-paced match that ended in a tight and unpredictable 3-3 draw.
However, Saka did not meet up with the England squad at the beginning of the international break nor did he play against San Marino.
“Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka will play no part in England’s forthcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers,” said the Football Association.
“Rashford reported to St. George’s Park with an injury that ruled him out of the 5-0 win against San Marino and, following further assessment, it has been decided he will continue his rehabilitation with Manchester United.
“Saka had remained at Arsenal for further assessment on an ongoing issue with the hope of joining up with the Three Lions but will now not be available for the fixtures against Albania and Poland,” it continued.
England manager Gareth Southgate has not called any replacements for the two young players.
Southgate has also spoken out about his strategy regarding star player Harry Kane, who was not selected to play against San Marino.
“If I allowed Harry to make that decision, he would play every minute. That won’t be happening,” revealed Southgate.
“We have got to be mindful he had extra time last Thursday and another high-intensity game last Sunday, so we have got situations with a lot of the players, really, and we have got to make sure we manage the fixture correctly.”
