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Man United's Rashford 'probably' not ready for Liverpool showdown - Solskjaer

MANCHESTER, England -- Marcus Rashford is a serious doubt for Manchester United's trip to Liverpool on Sunday, according to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Rashford came on as a substitute in his side's FA Cup victory over Wolves on Wednesday, but lasted just 15 minutes after suffering a back injury in a collision with Matt Doherty.

The 22-year-old is United's top scorer with 19 goals this season, but Solskjaer was pessimistic when asked about his chances of featuring at Anfield.

"I can't tell you now," Solskjaer told a news conference on Friday.

"We will give him the absolute amount of time to find out. We will do some more checks and treatment with him today [Friday].

"I'm not going to hold my breath -- probably think he wouldn't be ready, but there's still 48 hours."

United will kick off at Anfield 27 points behind runaway leaders Liverpool, who look set to end their 30-year wait for a top-flight title.

Liverpool dominated the 1970s and 1980s before slipping behind Sir Alex Ferguson's United in the 1990s and 2000s.

United have gone six years without a title since Ferguson retired, but Solskjaer is determined to ensure they are not left in the shadows as long as their rivals.

"That's what we're working hard to make sure doesn't happen," Solskjaer said. "Let that be a lesson for us.

"We need a very, very good performance to go there and win, but we beat City last month. We need to get to the level of those performances when you go away to the team that's top of the league and the last two performances [against Liverpool] at Old Trafford, we've drawn twice and been close to winning both games, so we've got some games to look back at.

"That will give us loads of belief and if we perform to our best we have a chance to win."

Solskjaer will not be able to call on Ashley Young at Anfield with the 34-year-old joining Inter Milan on Friday.

Young will be with Inter through June and have an option for another 12 months after the clubs agreed to a €1.5 million fee, and Solskjaer insisted there were no hard feelings that his former club captain had decided to leave.

"To be fair, I think it was for Ashley, he's 35 in the summer and if he gets a two-year contract somewhere I think it's up to him to take that," Solskjaer said.

"We weren't ready to offer that. He's been a good servant, captain, won trophies, cups, but we've got players coming through."

In light of Young's departure, Solskjaer named defender Harry Maguire United's new club captain.