Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford will be out for at least six weeks after suffering a stress fracture in his back, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed.
The striker was injured after coming on as a substitute in United’s 1-0 FA Cup Third Round Replay win against Wolves at Old Trafford.
Rashford was left out of the squad that faced Liverpool on Sunday in which they were defeated 2-0 at Anfield. After the game Solskjaer confirmed that Rashford’s injury is a lengthy one as he said: "Normally six weeks to heal, but I'm not a doctor,"
"It's a [back] stress fracture. It happened against Wolves. It's not happened before, it happened there and then. He'll be out for a while."
He added: "We will give him enough time to heal, normally six weeks before getting going, then he needs time to get match fit again."
When asked whether the club would seek a replacement for the 22-year-old, the Norwegian added: "We've had many injuries for big players this season. It's just an unfortunate situation we're in.
"We might look at some short-term deals as well that could take us through to the summer. We don't desperately need a striker, if the right one is there and it fits for us... we've got players who are champing at the bit."
Rashford has scored 22 goals for club and country this season, with 14 of those coming in the Premier League.
On Monday, Rashford tweeted: "On the pitch or not, Manchester United fans don't get much bigger than me.
"You best believe I'll be involved in team meetings, team huddles and team sessions throughout this recovery. Blink and I'll be back, fitter than ever. See you soon."
It comes at a bad time for Gareth Southgate as Rashford’s injury is now on top of Harry Kane’s long term injury leaving the England manager with less experienced strikers to choose from.