Rashford grateful for 'priceless' United pre-season but cautious over England talk

Marcus Rashford says his current pre-season is priceless for his prospects, though the Manchester United forward is reluctant to discuss an England recall.

The Old Trafford star suffered a difficult 2021-22 campaign on the field, and was criticised for his performances as much as he was praised for his humanitarian and community work off it.

It came on the back of a frustrating Euro 2020 final loss to Italy, in which he missed a penalty in the decisive shoot-out, with fluctuating form and injuries ultimately seeing him dropped from Gareth Southgate's Three Lions squad.

But after a string of impressive performances under new United boss Erik ten Hag during the club's pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia, Rashford admits he is raring to go again.  

"For me personally, it's priceless to have the pre-season that I've had," the 24-year-old stated.

"Sometimes I don't really take as much note of it because usually we're playing games in the summer and stuff like that, so the next season sort of just rolls onto the previous season.

"But this year I've had time to break, rest, recover mentally and physically, and then I've had a proper pre-season. I feel really happy. I'm pleased that I managed to do that."

Asked on the matter of a recall to the international setup ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup however, Rashford admitted all he can do is impress at club level to see if he can force his way back into Southgate's plans.

Despite making several squads across the tail-end of 2021, he has not featured since that day at Wembley, with others battling for his spot in the squad in his absence.

"I've not spoken to [Southgate] since the summer, really," Rashford added. "I'm not too sure but all I can do is try and do my best for United, and then we'll see what happens."