SAN DIEGO, California — Manchester United are facing more injury problems after Marcus Rashford was forced off during their friendly against Real Betis on Wednesday.
Rashford scored a first-half penalty in a 3-2 win for United at Snapdragon Stadium but was replaced in the second half after taking a heavy knock to his right ankle.
The England striker required treatment on the pitch and was limping as he walked off and headed straight down the tunnel. Antony also went off after lasting just 23 minutes following his introduction as a second-half substitute.
More injury problems are the last thing manager Erik ten Hag needs after losing both Leny Yoro and Rasmus Hojlund.
Yoro has been ruled out for three months with a foot injury while Hojlund is set to miss six weeks with a hamstring problem. Injuries to both Hojlund and Rashford would leave Ten Hag with just new signing Joshua Zirkzee as his only recognised centre-forward for the start of the Premier League season, which kicks off against Fulham at Old Trafford on Aug. 16.
Zirkzee isn’t part of the squad for the U.S. tour after participating at the European Championship but has returned to training at Carrington.
Mounting injury concerns will be a major frustration for Ten Hag despite an otherwise positive night in San Diego.
United had to come from behind to win, but there were impressive performances from Rashford, Amad and 17-year-old left-back Harry Amass.
After Jadon Sancho had an early effort ruled out for offside, Betis took the lead through Iker Losada.
Tom Heaton, in goal in place of André Onana, made a mess of a cross into the box and Rodri Sanchez poked the ball back into the penalty area for Losada to score.
But the Spanish side were only ahead for a matter of minutes. Amad’s burst into the box was halted by Romain Perraud and after the referee had pointed to the spot, Rashford stepped up to score.
Amad said in the build-up to the game that he’s keen to show manager Ten Hag he deserves more opportunities, and he gave the Dutchman another nudge midway through the first half. When Amass got forward from left-back, his cross reached Amad at the back post and the Ivorian smashed his shot past Betis goalkeeper Rui Silva.
United scored again before half-time when Rashford, who looked lively on the left before going off, passed for Casemiro to swivel and shoot inside the post.
Both teams made a number of changes in the second half and Betis pulled a goal back on the hour when Diego Llorente scored.
Despite late pressure from Betis, United held on to win. They finish off their U.S. tour with a game against Liverpool in South Carolina on Saturday.