Marcus Rashford set to take Harry Kane's England place after sparkling Manchester United form

Kane will miss the games against Malta and Slovenia in October

Jack Austin
Thursday 22 September 2016 11:04 BST
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Rashford put this season's lack of football aside to shine for the England Under-21s
Rashford put this season's lack of football aside to shine for the England Under-21s (Getty)

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After forcing his way back into the Manchester United starting line-up, Marcus Rashford is ready to do the same at international level as he is set to replace Harry Kane in Sam Allardyce’s next England squad.

Kane damaged his ankle ligaments at the end of Tottenham’s win over Sunderland on the weekend and although the club have refused to put a timescale on the injury, it is expected he will miss up to two months of action.

That means he will be unavailable in October when the Three Lions reconvene their World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign with a double header against Malta and Slovenia.

Rashford is the in-form English striker at the moment having scored three goals in his last five United games – as well as a hat-trick on his England under-21s debut – meaning he could go straight in as a starter rather than just a squad player.

The 18-year-old was left out of Allardyce’s inaugural England squad after Jose Mourinho opted to use him off the bench for the first few games of the season.

But impressive performances against Manchester City and Hull, where he scored the last-minute winner, has seen him force his way into Mourinho’s first choice XI.

Marcus Rashford celebrates after scoring an equaliser for United
Marcus Rashford celebrates after scoring an equaliser for United (Getty)

And it appears Rashford’s impressive form will have the same effect on Allardyce’s thinking after being a shock inclusion in Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2016 squad.

The England manager said the reason for Rashford’s exclusion from the squad for the win over Slovakia was due to the lack of minutes he was getting under Mourinho at the start of the season.

He has since played four consecutive games for the Red Devils and is expected to start on Saturday when champions Leicester City visit Old Trafford.

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