Manchester United's Marcus Rashford Pulls out of England Squad with Ankle Injury

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has become the latest player to withdraw from the England squad ahead of 2020 UEFA European Championship qualifiers against Czech Republic and Montenegro:

The 21-year-old has returned to Manchester United for treatment on an ankle problem, and manager Gareth Southgate may not call up a replacement:

Rashford is the sixth player to pull out of the England squad due to injury. He joins John Stones, Fabian Delph, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Luke Shaw and Trent Alexander-Arnold in missing the two games.

The loss of Rashford will be a blow to Southgate. The youngster has been in strong form for Manchester United this season with 11 goals and six assists for the Red Devils.

Rashford is a versatile attacking option for both club and country. He can play out wide or in a more central role, and he was also influential in helping England qualify for the last four of the Nations League:

Manchester United will be hoping his injury is not too serious. The club have important Premier League games against Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers after the international break as they bid to finish in the top four.

The Red Devils then welcome Barcelona to Old Trafford for the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final on April 10.

Manchester United also have fellow attackers Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez struggling with injury.

Lukaku was forced to withdraw from the Belgium squad with a foot problem, per Richard Fay of the Manchester Evening News.

Sanchez is out with a knee injury and is expected to miss both legs of the Champions League tie against his former team, per Adam Marshall of the club's official website.

Meanwhile, Rashford's departure from the squad could be good news for Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho, according to Paul Hirst at The Times:

Sancho has impressed in the Bundesliga this season and has also been showing off his skills in training with the national team:

Southgate could look to hand the 18-year-old a first competitive start for England against Czech Republic on Friday, alongside Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling in the England attack.