Manchester United ‘s Marcus Rashford says he is “100% committed” to England after he faced criticism for a trip to New York following his withdrawal from international duty in March.
The forward, 25, missed Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine with an injury.
At the time, England manager Gareth Southgate defended the forward’s decision to go to the United States.
“I need time to switch off and recover,” Rashford said.
“I took a short trip, four days, then went back to do rehab and just try and get ready as soon as possible.
“With injuries, you can’t predict when they’re going to happen. Occasionally you do get impact injuries. I know that I’m committed to it [England] 100%.
“People are going to say what they’re going to say. It doesn’t really bother me.”
Rashford is now preparing for England’s next two Euro 2024 qualifiers, against Malta in Valletta on Friday and North Macedonia at Old Trafford the following Monday.
The striker scored 30 goals across all competitions for United during the season just completed.
His last game of the campaign was in the FA Cup final on 3 June, when United lost 2-1 to a Manchester City side who went on to complete the Treble.
“It’s not nice but at the same time it’s football,” added Rashford, whose United side finished third and won the EFL Cup last season.
“The best team that is consistently playing the best football is going to win the most trophies. They managed to win three this year – well done to them.
“We just move on. It’s up to them to keep it up and up to the rest of us to catch up.”
City’s Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips, John Stones and Kyle Walker joined up with the England squad on Tuesday.
Asked what he will say to the City contingent at the England camp, Rashford replied: “Just congratulations, it’s football. The most consistent teams are going to win trophies. It’s nothing new. Look at Barcelona and Madrid, they’re always going to win trophies.”
He added that England players winning trophies was “a massive positive” and would only help the team “get over the line in a major tournament”.
England’s match in Malta on Friday extends a season that began for Rashford on 7 August, more than 10 months ago.
The forward, who played 56 times for his club in a season which also included a World Cup in November and December, described the current calendar as “mad”.
“The players are going to push ourselves to the absolute limits,” he said.
“We need to be given more time to recover between certain games and at different stages of the season.
“That’s my opinion but I don’t think it’s down to the players. We shouldn’t have to put ourselves in a position to speak out about something that we’re not in control of or we’re not going to make the final decision on.”
Source: BBC Sport
