Ruben Amorim says Manchester United outcast Marcus Rashford is “ill” and unlikely to make the matchday squad against Liverpool on Sunday.
Rashford is available for transfer this month after falling out of favour under new head coach Amorim.
“We try to evaluate everything, training performance, game performances, engagement with team-mates, push their team-mates up,” the Portuguese said after Rashford was first omitted from a matchday squad against Manchester City.
“Everything is on the line when we analyse and try to choose the players. It is my selection. Simple.
“I don’t want to send a message it is simply an evaluation and they know it. The players are really, really smart. Everybody understands my decision and I have to choose. It is simple selection.
“Of course the context is difficult because we have to win games and we have a difficult situation now. I pay attention to everything, the way you eat, the way you put your clothes to go to a game. Everything. I make my evaluation and then I decide.”
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Man United have been in awful form, losing five Premier League matches in December, which was the first time since September 1962 that the Red Devils have lost five league games in a calendar month.
Rashford returned to the squad for Monday’s Premier League match at home against Newcastle United but was an unused substitute.
He will not even make the bench for Sunday’s trip to Anfield due to illness, Amorim has confirmed.
“It’s the same situation, at the moment he is ill,” Amorim said.
“He is not training. We will see in the future but this is like a normal player, then I make a selection. So, it’s the same.
“I think he is going to be out, this week he is out. We will see but I think this week he is out.”
Having been linked a January transfer, Rashford’s future “depends more on him than on me”, says Amorim.
“I already spoke a lot about Marcus, it depends more on him than on me,” the 39-year-old said.
“He has to want it really, really bad. He’s here, he’s in our squad so he’s our player and he’s ready to play if I decide.
“In that moment, I was really focused on trying to turn things around, to score one goal to open the game. And I chose, for example, Garna [Alejandro Garnacho] to do the job.
“I was not focused on the idea that I put Marcus on or not because he was away for four games. It was not that. If he’s there, he’s ready to play but I chose Garnacho.”
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