Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says he has to be “trusted” over his reasons for dropping Marcus Rashford to the bench for Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.
Prior to the match Ten Hag said the England forward was returning to his best form after taking control of his career, scoring three times in two games.
But the Dutchman then unexpectedly left Rashford out in favour of Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo, with the 26-year-old replacing Joshua Zirkzee after an hour.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp claimed “there’s obviously something that’s happened” for Ten Hag to leave Rashford out.
That theory was rejected as “crazy” after the game, with Ten Hag saying he was just rotating his squad, adding: “As a person you are not OK when you bring such speculation if you don’t know what’s going on.”
Earlier this week on the Rest is Football podcast, host Gary Lineker and former England striker Alan Shearer also questioned Ten Hag’s decision.
Asked about the furore around Rashford, before Ten Hag’s side’s opening Europa League game against his boyhood club FC Twente, he said on Tuesday: “I didn’t understand the criticism. People are not entitled to bring speculation.
“If I give an explanation they have to trust my words. If they don’t, that’s not right.”
Expanded schedule makes injuries ‘unavoidable’
Ten Hag says the increased football schedule will overload players and make injuries “unavoidable”.
Like the Champions League, the Europa League has also been expanded this season from 32 to 36 teams, resulting in two extra matches prior to the knockout stage.
“There are too many games. It’s clear. Too many competitions,” said Ten Hag.
“For the top players, they are overloaded and this is not good for football. It’s maybe good for commercial but there is a limit.
“It’s almost unavoidable that players get injured because of the overload from so many games.”
The Manchester United boss says left-back Luke Shaw may not return until after October’s international break, after initially hoping he would return this month.
The 29-year-old, who has not played a competitive game since the Euro 2024 final in July, is recovering from a calf injury.
“I think it’s probably [before the international break] but I can’t say I’m 100% sure,” Ten Hag said. “It can also be shortly after the break.”