Marcus Rashford has travelled to Dubai to accelerate his recovery from a hamstring injury.
There is a strong possibility that Marcus Rashford’s season could be over prematurely after sustaining a muscular injury, which means he is unlikely to play for Aston Villa again.
Rashford left Manchester United on loan in January after falling out of favour with Ruben Amorim. He has shown signs of improvement after scoring four goals in 17 matches, although it remains to be seen if that will attract interest from Europe’s biggest clubs.
Villa experienced a blow last weekend when Rashford’s injury ruled him out of their FA Cup semi-final defeat against Crystal Palace. The England international was spotted at the boxing in London later that night.
However, since the relationship with Amorim is unlikely to be mended, reports suggest Rashford wants a summer transfer to Barcelona.
That means Villa are unlikely to take up to option to sign Rashford for £40m at the end of the season.
Rashford steps up recovery in Dubai
There are growing fears at Villa that Rashford has made his final appearance for the club and will miss the remainder of their push for Champions League football next season.
Rashford’s injury comes at a bad time for Unai Emery’s men, but it means Ollie Watkins has a chance to reclaim his starting place in the team.
Despite reports that Rashford could return to United for recovery from his injury, the United academy graduate has travelled to Dubai.
According to the BBC, Rashford has flown to Dubai to complete the first part of his rehabilitation as he aims to be fit for England’s next round of fixtures in June.
England face Andorra in a World Cup qualifier on 7 June, before facing Senegal in a Wembley friendly three days later.
The United loanee will undergo a warm-weather recovery programme in the Middle East as he tries to accelerate his return to action for the national team.
Rashford was recalled to the England squad by Thomas Tuchel for the March internationals. The forward appearance twice under the new Three Lions coach, but failed to do anything of note against either Albania or Latvia.
The report adds that there is a small chance Rashford could play for Villa again before the end of the season.
Man Utd players in contention for England call-up
There are five United players in contention for an England call-up next month, including Rashford.
The other four have all recently returned to action following long spells out with injury.
Harry Maguire is performing strongly and Kobbie Mainoo is an England star in the making, but it remains to be seen if Tuchel will give injury-prone Luke Shaw a chance to restore his place in the national team squad.
Meanwhile, Mason Mount has already played under Tuchel, winning the Champions League during their time at Chelsea.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
