Back Marcus Rashford to return to his best, the conditions are set up perfectly for him

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Manchester United have been hoping Marcus Rashford’s much-needed rest in summer 2024 would help improve his fitness and form.

Missing out on the European Championships was a disappointment to Marcus Rashford, yet one which might end up benefitting him longer term.

Marcus Rashford’s high game time

Marcus Rashford is not alone in the need for rest. FIFPro and other organisations have long warned about the effects of overplaying on footballers.

The latest information from the FIFPro body showed how overworked players are. The overexposure has been described by them medically as “an emergency”.

Per The Guardian, As part of their analysis they found that “50% of respondents said they had been forced to play while already carrying an injury, while 82% of managers said they had fielded a player they knew required a rest”.

Marcus Rashford is living proof of how overexposure is seriously affecting the health and wellbeing of Premier League players. Since age 18, barring the 2021/22 season, he has averaged 38.04 (90’s) per campaign showing an incredibly high amount of exposure from a young age.

It is clear to see that excessive playing has caught up with him as his form has dipped, but when he has been given adequate rest he has been able to return to his elite output.

• READ MORE: Who is Marcus Rashford? Inside the life of Man Utd’s book-writing, government-tackling ace

Best season of Rashford’s career came after rest

In 2021/22 Manchester United ran Rashford into the ground and he felt it that season. He managed only 1,657 minutes as he was rushed back into the squad after shoulder surgery. This damaged his playing abilities all through the season. 

The issue was that Rashford was forced to go to the European Championships in the summer of 2021, and this delayed his shoulder surgery. He was hardly played at the tournament and it would have been wiser to rest him for the season ahead and allow his shoulder surgery to properly recover.

But Rashford had a second chance. In the summer of 2022 the Manchester United forward finally had a summer of rest. There was no tournament football and he was not carrying an injury. He was able to fully focus on pre-season and build fitness. In fact, he took it upon himself to journey to the USA and have specialist individual training

It is therefore no surprise that this was also the greatest season he had for Manchester United with 39 goal involvements in all competitions.

Improved team style with transfers

One thing that may also improve the output for Rashford this season is the addition of personnel that suit Erik ten Hag’s system. 

The constant changes in managers at the club has meant that there has not been a consistency to the style that is expected from the players and a squad of specialised players has not been created.

But summer 2024 looks to change all that as ten Hag has had an extended amount of time to build the team he wants, install his ideology, and more incoming acquisitions will help improve all the players. 

Rashford will also benefit from more squad depth. The growth of Garnacho as an excellent player for the team means that Rashford can be rotated, rested and have more of an impact through the season as he remains fresh.

Rashford has a recipe for a very good season ahead. He will be well rested, having worked all summer on fitness, and could be playing in the most cohesive, tactically sound Manchester United team for many years.