Marcus Rashford Belfast trip explained after Man Utd star misses training through illness

Marcus Rashford missed Manchester United training through illness on Friday, hours after footage emerged of the 26-year-old enjoying himself on a night out in Belfast.

The England international flew to Northern Ireland on Wednesday along with former United defender Ro-shaun Williams, who has completed his move to league champions Larne. Rashford posed for pictures with youth-team players from the County Antrim club on Thursday, which was a day off for the United squad.

Videos subsequently emerged of Rashford enjoying a night out in Lavery's, a bar situated in Belfast city centre. He also attended Thompson’s Garage, a nightclub located near Belfast City Hall.

United, it is understood, were informed that Rashford had a low-key dinner and drinks with friends on Wednesday night and returned to Manchester on Thursday. Club sources have also told ManchesterWorld that Rashford’s illness is believed to be genuine, with several players impacted by a bug in recent days, including Jonny Evans, who also missed Friday’s session.

For Rashford, the videos in Belfast are unwanted publicity for a player whose form has been underwhelming this season. The forward has scored just four goals in 26 appearances and lost his place in the team for a period in December.

Rashford has also been involved in a similar incident this season, when he visited a nightclub in Manchester just hours after October's 3-0 defeat to Manchester City. Manager Erik ten Hag claimed Rashford’s decision was ‘unacceptable’.

“Yes I am aware of it, I spoke with him about it,” the Dutchman said at the time. “It's unacceptable. I told him, he apologised and that is it. For us, it's an internal matter.”