Marcus Rashford could struggle to get back into the England side when he recovers from injury, according to Alan Shearer.
The Manchester United striker has been forced to sit out of England’s Euro 2020 qualifiers against Czech Republic last Friday and Montenegro on Monday night with an ankle injury.
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The Three Lions hammered the Czechs 5-0 with Raheem Sterling scoring a hat-trick, Jadon Sancho impressing on the opposite flank and Callum Hudson-Odoi looking dangerous off the bench.
With the wide array of attacking options at Gareth Southgate’s disposal, Shearer believes Rashford will have to prove himself again to regain a spot in the starting XI.
‘We’ve moved forwards already and we have so many more options than we did when we got to the semi-final in Russia last year,’ Shearer told The Sun.
‘That’s great for a manager because the players already know they must perform. There can be no complacency when there is this much competition for places.
‘There are players banging down the door for a start, so when you pull on that England shirt you are under no illusions that you’ve got to step up.
‘We didn’t even mention the name of one of the best young strikers around because we were enjoying Friday night’s goal-fest at Wembley so much.
‘But Marcus Rashford was back at Manchester United watching his pals run rings around Czech Republic and smashing five goals past them.
‘He will already know he’s got to go again to force his way into the team.’
Southgate said of Rashford’s injury last week: ‘He’s (Rashford) been with the medical team all week. It’s clear to us he’s not ready for our matches, so we have sent him back to his club. He is out of the two games.’
However, after two weeks without a match, he is expected to return for Manchester United’s Premier League contest with Watford on Saturday afternoon.
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