Just a few hours before England played Italy on Thursday night, Marcus Rashford surprised fans with a post on social media.
Rashford, who had withdrawn from the England squad for the Euro qualifies with an injury, posted a picture of himself enjoying some 'downtime' in New York before subsequently sharing another photo with his partner by a fountain in Central Park.
The knock that Rashford sustained against Fulham in the FA Cup was unspecified when his withdrawal from England squad was announced and his photos on social media were swamped by comments like: "Thought you were injured?"
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Some supporters also joked that it doesn't feel like a coincidence that Erik ten Hag recently dined with Sir Alex Ferguson and Rashford, Manchester United's leading scorer this season, was forced to rest during this international break with a knock.
It is believed that England were unaware of his trip to the USA after his withdrawal from the squad and Gareth Southgate, who was asked about his absence and trip to New York, seemed to hint at frustration at Rashford being unavailable.
Rashford has form for withdrawing from England squads and Southgate said "he hadn't had him that often". Considering the player jetted to New York, it would be fair for Southgate to have suspicions but it seemed like a calculated gamble from Rashford.
As they remain in each competition, United are set to play 60-plus matches - they played 49 last season - and the World Cup has also been wedged in the middle of the campaign, which means the fixture list has been relentless for elite players.
Rashford, who has privately struggled with injuries throughout his career, knows his body better than anyone and perhaps his absence from the England squad could be explained by not wanting to take any unnecessary risks.
The extent of his knock is not known, but it's possible he could aggravate the issue whilst on international duty and, for a player who is finally enjoying a clean bill of health, that is understandably something he'll be desperate to avoid.
When taking a long-term view, it's worth pulling out of England fixtures against Italy and Ukraine when Rashford wants to sustain his world-class performances this season, despite the potential risk of causing Southgate to be suspicious.
Rashford played through the pain with a stress fracture in his back at the start of 2020 and he was also hampered by a shoulder injury that required surgery throughout 2020/21, which was delayed because he wanted to play.
After months of injections and painkillers, Rahford's body had been pushed to breaking point by the time he started against Villarreal in the Europa League final in May 2021 and he recently reflected on that difficult period in his career.
"For me, it's something I expect from myself," Rashford said of managing injuries. "To be honest, I don't think anyone - apart from the people at the club - they don't know how long I was dealing with those issues and they probably won't know until I say.
"But it wasn't just one season, it was a period of time where every day was tough and you have to just sacrifice and I've always been one to try and be out on the pitch as much as I possibly can. And for me, that's where I get the happiness.
"If I'm out injured, I'm not happy. I'm dealing with the pain and I'm not happy. So I would rather try and deal with the pain as long as I can perform and still help the team, I'd always choose to do that. At times, you have to pull yourself out and if you don't, then you have to get people around you to pull yourself out and that's what happened with the shoulder situation last season."
Rashford was in a darker place when dealing with multiple injuries, but a few years later and he's playing the best football of his career, so it's not a surprise to see him and United exercise caution regarding any slight knocks he may have.
He'll also force himself into England's starting line-up regardless if performing like he currently is ahead of Euro 2024.
There might be a reason why Ten Hag was coy about his dinner with Ferguson after all.
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