Published: 12:23, March 27, 2021 | Updated: 21:17, June 4, 2023
Injured Rashford, Saka out of England's World Cup qualifiers
By Reuters

Manchester United's English striker Marcus Rashford goes down after picking up an injury during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on March 7, 2021. (LAURENCE GRIFFITHS / POOL / AFP)

England will be without striker Marcus Rashford and winger Bukayo Saka for their World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Poland due to injury, the FA said on Friday.

Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka remained at the London club for further assessment on a hamstring issue

Rashford was ruled out of Manchester United’s FA Cup defeat by Leicester City on Sunday with a foot problem and had missed England’s 5-0 victory over San Marino at Wembley on Thursday after joining the national camp at St George’s Park.

The 23-year-old will now continue his rehabilitation with United, the FA added in a statement.

Arsenal’s Saka remained at the London club for further assessment on a hamstring issue and will now also miss the Group I games in Albania on Sunday and at home to Poland on Wednesday.

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England manager Gareth Southgate had expressed doubts on the availability of the duo for the three matches ahead of the game against San Marino.

Injuries mean Southgate is without a number of players including Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson, Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho.

Southgate said that he would also look to manage the workload of captain Harry Kane, with the Tottenham Hotspur forward rested for the game against San Marino.