Man United 1-0 Wolves: Reds Rashford injury headache despite cup replay win

Manchester United booked passage into the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Wolves at Old Trafford with Marcus Rashford the subject of injury speculation on Wednesday night.

Just four days before a crunch Premier League date away to leaders, Liverpool, Rashford started from the bench after being introduced as a substitute three minutes before Juan Mata scored the only goal of the encounter in the second half. But the England international had to be replaced with 10 minutes remaining, as he appeared to be nursing his back, after initially attempting to play on.

A lively opening saw John Ruddy crucially bat the ball to safety as Daniel James bore down on goal following Mata’s gorgeous lofted pass before Raul Jimenez twisted into space in the United area but shot straight at Sergio Romero. United were fortunate to see a Wolves goal ruled out in the 10th minute, as Fred hopelessly hacked a clearance into the legs of Nemanja Matic.

This allowed Jimenez to challenge Harry Maguire and inadvertently control with his arm before Pedro Neto slid the ball into the net. Ruddy saved low from Mata and blocked bravely from James either side of Matt Doherty heading against the base of the left-hand post after a short Wolves corner in an even first half.

James drilled across the face of goal early following the restart, but second-half chances were sporadic until the decisive goal. United responded to their counter-attacking opponents with a break of their own, Anthony Martial timing his pass well to keep Mata onside as he produced a delicate dink over Ruddy.

The untimely Rashford blow came soon afterwards, the forward going down following a challenge with Doherty before he became the latest casualty to hobble off the field. The issue provided a rather unwanted headache for Ole Gunnar Solskjær, whose side came through the replay after drawing the first clash 0-0 against the same opponents earlier this month.

Big concerns for either side

Rashford has 14 Premier League goals this season and will be a big miss if he cannot make the Liverpool game or any subsequent key matches, including an EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Manchester City.

Wolves were also left reeling late on as their own talisman Adama Traore, pulled up before a swift substitution. Also engaged in Europa League campaigns, the teams look every bit as much to be feeling the workload.

Neto not on it

Wolves teen Neto thought he had a goal to remember in the early stages, but it was to be denied. The winger struggled up against Brandon Williams, the two tussling off the ball at one stage, and wasted a great opportunity to feed Traore on the counter seconds before he was substituted.

What’s next?

While United are through to face either Watford or Tranmere Rovers in the fourth round, both sides are first back in Premier League action with United tackling a daunting trip to Liverpool on Sunday, while Wolves have a date with a resurgent Southampton the day before.