Rashford - Playing through injury (again)

Leftback99

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Hes been playing with a shoulder injury for a while, and his back is also still an issue
I know. We could rule him out for the rest of the season but I'd be pretty sure we wouldn't make top 4 without him.
 

Lentwood

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The lack of understanding about how player’s fitness levels are assessed in the modern game is staggering.

The medical staff employed by a club like United will be second to none. They will have done multiple scans and assessments of Rashford’s injury and determined whether there’s any medical reason he might not be fit to play.

I can only assume there is no medical reason, otherwise I highly doubt either player or manager would take the risk, especially considering it’s just a run of the mill League game, not some kind of Cup Final.

The injury might be sore and fair play to players who play through discomfort, but I would have thought half the players on the pitch today will be carrying some kind of knock at this stage in the season
 

ivaldo

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Do you think it is really that black and white ? Like there Is never a grey area where the medical team says he could play but it isn't ideal etc ?
The medical team wouldn't pass him if they didn't think he should make it through the game unscathed. Of course there might be more of a risk he'll exacerbate it, but it's not going to be a massive risk.
 

Lentwood

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Do you think it is really that black and white ? Like there Is never a grey area where the medical team says he could play but it isn't ideal etc ?
The medical team will highlight the type of injury and assess the risk from there i.e is it muscular or is it impact. Its highly unlikely that a modern footballer would play with a tear or a strain.

If the medical staff determine there is bruising or swelling (for example) but no ACTUAL muscle damage, it will be down to the player to determine how much pain they are in
 

Dearg hÉireann

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I honestly don't know if Rashford is playing with an injury or if he's just continuing on his bad form but that first half performance was truly horrid. Hopefully he turns it around soon
 

Cassidy

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Neither of which would have been fixed by sitting out tonight’s game.

He injured his ankle against City. If that’s fully recovered then he’s as fit now as he has been in months.
He needs a rest, I wasn't speaking about tonight
 

Cassidy

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I know. We could rule him out for the rest of the season but I'd be pretty sure we wouldn't make top 4 without him.
And maybe we wont have him for as long as we could long term with this constant playing through injuries
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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I’ve said it many times. He needs to be more selfish. He needs to just tell Ole “no” because if he says he can play Ole will play him. Ole has proven he’s happy to risk injured players, we’ve seen this with Pogba, Maguire, Lindelof & Rashford himself many times. The decision should be taken out of his hands but our medical staff are clearly incompetent & Ole is all about self preservation. He is losing years off his career right now, he needs to think about his future. He needs to take time to recover if he wants to go to the Euros.
 

Eire Red United

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I know. We could rule him out for the rest of the season but I'd be pretty sure we wouldn't make top 4 without him.
If we keep Pogba and Bruno fit, and Martial or Greenwood find any sort of goal scoring form we’d be fine. Hasn’t exactly been great for a good while now
 

Pogue Mahone

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The medical team will highlight the type of injury and assess the risk from there i.e is it muscular or is it impact. Its highly unlikely that a modern footballer would play with a tear or a strain.

If the medical staff determine there is bruising or swelling (for example) but no ACTUAL muscle damage, it will be down to the player to determine how much pain they are in
I think you have a bit too much faith in medical imaging. It’s easy enough to spot serious muscle/ligament damage but there’s loads of grey areas where it’s hard to see the injury properly and it’s almost always extremely hard to know when an injury is completely resolved, just based on scans. Most of the assessment will be functional. And that will depend on feedback from the player about the amount of pain various movements cause in their injury. So some footballers can definitely be too brave for their own good (just like some footballers can sit out more games than they need to)
 

Lentwood

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I think you have a bit too much faith in medical imaging. It’s easy enough to spot serious muscle/ligament damage but there’s loads of grey areas where it’s hard to see the injury properly and it’s almost always extremely hard to know when an injury is completely resolved, just based on scans. Most of the assessment will be functional. And that will depend on feedback from the player about the amount of pain various movements cause in their injury. So some footballers can definitely be too brave for their own good (just like some footballers can sit out more games than they need to)
I understand your point and I'm not dismissing it but my point is, using my own experiences as an example, a scan can definitively tell you whether something is a definite 'no' or a calculated risk.

You're right, there are 'grey' areas, whereby it's clear there is stress, bruising or inflammation and that may or may not be performance-impacting and/or may or may not lead to further more serious injuries. In this scenario, some players will play through the pain, others won't.

However, I am saying that if you go in for a scan on your ankle, your achilles or your knee, for example, the medical team will know if you have a break or a tear. I've had two bad knee injuries playing football and have gone through sports rehabilitation and an MRI scan on your knee can pick up hairline tears in cartilage from injuries that are years old.

So my point is, if a player DOES have an obvious tear, rupture or fracture, I highly doubt ANY club would risk that player as further impact or stress could mean career-changing injuries. As you say, it's then down to the player whether they have the desire, the appetite or the toughness to play through soreness, inflammation, bruising or stress.
 

Abraxas

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It must be pretty frustrating for him at the moment.

We're at the business end of the season with trophies and a good league position yet to be decided, with the Euros on the horizon and it's quite clear he is not right or even close to it.

Maybe I am slightly pessimistic but it's difficult to see how he could be fit for the Euros at this stage if there is no indication that a rest would fix the issue. You would think Southgate should be seriously looking at this and planning other options as unfit players at these international tournaments has never worked out well.

From our point of view I think there's going to have to be some pretty frank communication between staff and the player using last night as a benchmark for his condition because that just cannot work.
 

Halftrack

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I’ve said it many times. He needs to be more selfish. He needs to just tell Ole “no” because if he says he can play Ole will play him. Ole has proven he’s happy to risk injured players, we’ve seen this with Pogba, Maguire, Lindelof & Rashford himself many times. The decision should be taken out of his hands but our medical staff are clearly incompetent & Ole is all about self preservation. He is losing years off his career right now, he needs to think about his future. He needs to take time to recover if he wants to go to the Euros.
I like how all your posts contain some variant of "I've said this *amount of* times" as if you're some expert with valuable insights, and not just some random football drama-monger on the internet.
 

groovyalbert

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With Pogba back we're able to play a decent diamond which should mean giving Rashford a bit of a breather.
 

Hellboy

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Ole is running him to the ground, Rashford should put himself first and stop playing injured otherwise his career will be finished at 27
 

Halftrack

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Our medical team, with actual doctors who do tests and scans, are incompetent and I, random internet poster #3454225, know better!
 

manunited1919

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I’ve said it many times. He needs to be more selfish. He needs to just tell Ole “no” because if he says he can play Ole will play him. Ole has proven he’s happy to risk injured players, we’ve seen this with Pogba, Maguire, Lindelof & Rashford himself many times. The decision should be taken out of his hands but our medical staff are clearly incompetent & Ole is all about self preservation. He is losing years off his career right now, he needs to think about his future. He needs to take time to recover if he wants to go to the Euros.
He is being selfish, but selfishness in his case means he wants to play each and every game even if it’s obvious he is running himself to the ground. I don’t think it’s a medical issue, he just needs a rest.
 

DWelbz19

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Our medical team, with actual doctors who do tests and scans, are incompetent and I, random internet poster #3454225, know better!
Of course, goes without saying. But do you watch Rashford and think he’s genuinely playing pain-free? Or even at least 80%+ fit? Most of time I genuinely don’t think so.
 

Lentwood

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Of course, goes without saying. But do you watch Rashford and think he’s genuinely playing pain-free? Or even at least 80%+ fit? Most of time I genuinely don’t think so.
I don’t see any difference in this Rashford to the Rashford I have watched over 100 times since his debut.

He’s a frustrating player, inconsistent, lacks basic fundamentals but does contribute with goals and assists.

The problem he will always have is when he doesn’t score or assist, his all-round game is poor and he’ll look terrible

The problem for his detractors (admittedly I am one) is that statistically, he will always be one of our best impact players.

For me it comes down to whether you can forgive him his foibles for his goal/assist contributions
 

Lappen

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I see posts pointing out that if Rashford needed a rest becourse of injuries the medical team would have said so, and he would not play.
What about the rumers that both Pogba and now Cavani say they were not/is not ready to play despite the ok from the medical team?

Is it just bullshit and nothing to pay attention to?

And its feels like only days ago when everybody complained about our medical team becourse of all the injuries. This is the first season in years we don't have more injuries than most teams.(yet)
I'm a bit suspicious about how good the medical team along with Rashford and team Solskaer have handle the injuries, ore more specific the decisions around them.
 

charlenefan

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I like how all your posts contain some variant of "I've said this *amount of* times" as if you're some expert with valuable insights, and not just some random football drama-monger on the internet.
he's actually an insult to random football drama-mongers on the internet as some of them do actually make good points on the odd occasion
 

Red00012

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Of course, goes without saying. But do you watch Rashford and think he’s genuinely playing pain-free? Or even at least 80%+ fit? Most of time I genuinely don’t think so.
Or do you watch him and think he’s genuinely not as good as some think it is ?
 

DWelbz19

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Or do you watch him and think he’s genuinely not as good as some think it is ?
No, he’s comfortably one of the best wingers in the league, and comfortably one of our best players. I just think it’s pretty blatant when he’s playing through injuries — his running in behind dips every few weeks; he rarely ever takes defenders on with explosive accelerative pace; and his pressing levels drop down to Martial levels (who’s just a genuinely lazy bastard).
 

Halftrack

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Of course, goes without saying. But do you watch Rashford and think he’s genuinely playing pain-free? Or even at least 80%+ fit? Most of time I genuinely don’t think so.
He definitely needs a rest, and it's perfectly possible that his shoulder is causing him bother. But to go from that to "Ole is deliberately risking Rashford's career for selfish reasons" as if you (general you, just to be clear) know jack shit about anything that goes on away from the pitch is a pretty massive leap.

I believe Ole is acting in good faith, and that he's only playing Rashford because the player himself and the medical team has said it's okay to do so. That obviously doesn't mean that Ole is can't assess the situation and see that Rashford is bothered more than he's letting on, and decide to give him some rest.
he's actually an insult to random football drama-mongers on the internet as some of them do actually make good points on the odd occasion
True, I should have gone with 'outrage merchant'.
 

Lemon Moon

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I really hope he doesn't play in the England game, he definitely needs time to recover properly.

He's possibly carrying multiple injuries.

I'd be fine if we give him the rest of the season to recover, he need him fighting fit for next season.
 

big rons sovereign

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I’ve said it many times. He needs to be more selfish. He needs to just tell Ole “no” because if he says he can play Ole will play him. Ole has proven he’s happy to risk injured players, we’ve seen this with Pogba, Maguire, Lindelof & Rashford himself many times. The decision should be taken out of his hands but our medical staff are clearly incompetent & Ole is all about self preservation. He is losing years off his career right now, he needs to think about his future. He needs to take time to recover if he wants to go to the Euros.
:houllier:
 

Striker10

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I'm sorry but if he's playing with an injury because otherwise fans will be more critical of the manager than that's ridiculous decision making, the priority has to be protect the player over what people on a forum think. I would imagine it's a lot more likely that United think it's not aggravating the injury more to have him playing (even if it certainly impacts his performances he's better at 80% than any other option in that position) and he wants to keep playing to help the team this season and, let's be realistic, to play in the Euros in the summer. They tried to keep playing him last year with an injury but eventually they decided they had to sort it out, I would sincerely hope that if that decision had to be made again then the opinions of fans about the overall performance of the team would have zero influence.
Most players play with degrees of injuries so do you even know the severity? You have no clue. If the medics at the club said, Ole he can't play....then what would Ole say to Rashford?.....Unfortunately, we need to win games and rather then be on the treatment table, Rashford is still more productive then a lot of players. Just how it is. Ole has to play him. Why not? You put him on the bench, what then? You have a player who wants to play and who can get goals when goals are hard to come by. People like to blame Ole, but you play him.
 

RORY65

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Most players play with degrees of injuries so do you even know the severity? You have no clue. If the medics at the club said, Ole he can't play....then what would Ole say to Rashford?.....Unfortunately, we need to win games and rather then be on the treatment table, Rashford is still more productive then a lot of players. Just how it is. Ole has to play him. Why not? You put him on the bench, what then? You have a player who wants to play and who can get goals when goals are hard to come by. People like to blame Ole, but you play him.
Ignoring the fact I don't know why the hell you've decided to quote a post from weeks ago, you also have no clue about the severity and indicated that people criticising Solskjaer for his performance as manager had an important role in his decision making on whether to play an injured player, regardless of the potential consequences. My point was that would be complete negligence if it risked doing further damage and therefore it's reasonable to presume that the club have determined that playing him won't make it worse and risk more serious long-term problems and have therefore understandably decided to keep playing Rashford because even if he's not 100% he's still better than the alternatives. You're trying to defend Ole (even though my previous post was explaining why his decision making was most likely entirely reasonable) by implying he might put his own job prospects ahead of the well being of one his players, my point was I don't believe he would do that.
 
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At least if he chooses to go and play against San Marino, Albania et al. all this 'playing injured' stuff goes out the window.

He might be playing hurt, I imagine half the team are at this point in the season, but if he goes away on England duty he's certainly not playing with an injury. There's a big, big difference.
 

Red00012

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At least if he chooses to go and play against San Marino, Albania et al. all this 'playing injured' stuff goes out the window.

He might be playing hurt, I imagine half the team are at this point in the season, but if he goes away on England duty he's certainly not playing with an injury. There's a big, big difference.
I hope a certain person will be calling Southgate selfish if it happens .
 

DWelbz19

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And it’s all alright, because Rashford, the doctors, and Southgate say he’s fit, right? Until he breaks down with another niggling injury in a month or so and it carries on.
 

Swiss_Red89

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Just looked at a few news around Rashford regarding the England Camp.
Apparently Rashford is currently working in the gym in the england camp and faces a race to be fit for the upcoming games. He almost certainly will not be able to play tomorrow in the first game.

The whole situation reaches a baffling state from an outside perspective. He's clearly struggeling with injuries and a rest would be the best for all parties involved. Why are they keeping him in the camp? They could send him home and call Bamford.
Rashford obviously will go to the Euros as everybody in England knows what he can do and games vs Albania und San Marino will certainly not uplift his england legacy.

I really don't understand this. I hope they (Rashford, United and the FA) know what they are doing, i'm not sure anymore.
 
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Forevergiggs1

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Ignoring the fact I don't know why the hell you've decided to quote a post from weeks ago, you also have no clue about the severity and indicated that people criticising Solskjaer for his performance as manager had an important role in his decision making on whether to play an injured player, regardless of the potential consequences. My point was that would be complete negligence if it risked doing further damage and therefore it's reasonable to presume that the club have determined that playing him won't make it worse and risk more serious long-term problems and have therefore understandably decided to keep playing Rashford because even if he's not 100% he's still better than the alternatives. You're trying to defend Ole (even though my previous post was explaining why his decision making was most likely entirely reasonable) by implying he might put his own job prospects ahead of the well being of one his players, my point was I don't believe he would do that.
Whether it was putting his own job prospects ahead of the well being of one of his players is for another argument but there's no denying he's run Rashford into the ground. Last season, a week or 2 before his serious injury he was spotted carrying an ultrasonic bone healing device then against Wolves he was diagnosed with a double fracture of his spine. Coincidence much? Reports came out that he also had an operation for a floating bone in his ankle. Up until that time Rashford was the most used player in the squad. Does that sound like he was taking his players welfare into account?

This season is the same. It doesn't matter if the medical staff say he's fit to play because he's obviously not. Rashford has to be treated with kid gloves before the club end his career a lot sooner rather than later.