Marcus Rashford mystery with Man Utd fans not having 'injury' ahead of Fulham clash

Rashford recently raised eyebrows by going to a nightclub to celebrate his birthday after United were crushed 3-0 by Manchester City last week.

Ten Hag, speaking on Friday, confirmed he was unhappy with the player for his decision.

“I am aware of it, I spoke with him about it,” the 53-year-old said at his pre-match press conference.

“It is unacceptable. I told him, he apologised and that is it. It is an internal matter."

It isn't the first time Rashford has angered his manager.

The United star was benched for a 1-0 win over Wolves last season, though came on to score the winner.

But Ten Hag has now omitted Rashford from his squad for today's match with Fulham, raising eyebrows in the process.

The Dutchman knows it's a match he can't afford to lose, with his job potentially on the line.

There's currently talk of Zinedine Zidane potentially taking over at Old Trafford, while Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Almorin has been linked with the post as well.

United have gone with Andre Onana in goal for the match with Fulham, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans and Diogo Dalot making up their back four.

In midfield, Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen partner up with Bruno Fernandes playing further ahead.

Alejandro Garnacho starts at the expense of Rashford, with Antony and Rasmus Hojlund also selected in attack.

United have since said that Rashford is nursing an injury.

But many fans on social media aren't having that, particularly after the player travelled down for the match with Fulham and with no training session in between.

"Rashford is getting punished for partying after heavy defeat against City," said one user.

"Rashford out of today's match because of partying last week lol," said a second.

A third stated: "Rashford got injured at the nightclub."

A fourth said: "Rashford dropped! Never thought I’d see the day."

"I’m not buying it," were the words of another fan.

And a sixth said: "That is so fake."

Ten Hag, meanwhile, has challenged his United players to put things right after recent dire defeats to Newcastle and Manchester City.

“We all know we let each other down, so we want to bounce back as you say," he said. "I am sure we will do [this]. This group is positive about bouncing back and they want to be in the fight.

"They stick together and you can see the spirit is good.

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"If you see the comeback against Brentford, you can see they want to do things better and we will put things right.”

“Absolutely. They are always behind us, also in the week after two defeats at Old Trafford, they are always behind us," he added when asked if the travelling fans can inspire his side to victory in west London.

"So we really credit them for that. It shows we are together.

"We are in a difficult period but we are behind each other and [we know] what we can expect from each other.

"When you are together in a fight, we will come through it. We will put it right and in the end, it is about the end result. When the players are returning [from injury], we will play better and the performances will be better.”