Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has asked for “trust” regarding his decision to bench Marcus Rashford during Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace.
Before the match, Ten Hag praised the England forward, stating that Rashford was regaining his best form after taking control of his career, having scored three goals in two games.
However, Ten Hag made the unexpected decision to start Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo instead, with Rashford only coming on to replace Joshua Zirkzee after an hour.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp suggested that “something must have happened” for Ten Hag to leave Rashford out of the starting lineup.
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 raised questions about Ten Hag’s decision.
When asked about the controversy surrounding Rashford ahead of Manchester United’s opening Europa League match against his boyhood club FC Twente, Ten Hag responded on Tuesday, saying: “I didn’t understand the criticism. People are not entitled to make speculative claims.”
“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.”