Season over? Aston Villa boss Unai Emery confirms Marcus Rashford injury after Crystal Palace defeat

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has confirmed Marcus Rashford missed the 3-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Crystal Palace due to an injury concern that possibly could be season-ending.

Rashford wasn’t even named on the bench as he sustained a hamstring injury during a training session earlier in the week. Ollie Watkins led the line in the Manchester United loanee’s absence but was unable to get on the scoresheet as Villa were toothless in attack for much of the game.

“He is injured,” Emery said of Rashford during his post-match press conference. “He got injured this week and yesterday we did a test. It is his hamstring. We are going to try to test him each match but he is injured and probably some weeks he won’t be available,” Emery added.

With just a month of action and four games left, Rashford’s season could be over. It’s not a guarantee that he will miss every remaining match if he can recover swiftly, but it’s not looking hopeful. Hamstring problems are notoriously difficult to ditch quickly and a player as powerful in his acceleration as Rashford must take extra care.

Villa will be disappointed to lose Rashford as he has been in great form since signing from United, scoring four goals and notching six assists in 17 appearances so far. The 27-year-old has really thrown off the shackles that were thrust on him by Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford, registering a direct goal involvement every 94 minutes on average.

Emery will be frustrated as the decision whether to sign Rashford permanently for £40 million at the end of the season is looming and he will now have fewer matches to assess. It’s also a blow financially, as Villa are paying around £240,000 per week to have Rashford at the club.