Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford has been ruled out
Marcus Rashford has been ruled out of Barcelona's clash against Atletico Madrid due to injury.
The forward - who is currently on loan at the Spanish giants from Manchester United - is suffering pain in his left knee after enduring a blow in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Mallorca.
In a statement released by the LaLiga leaders on Wednesday afternoon, it was confirmed the England star will miss the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final tie on Thursday against Diego Simeone's side.
The full statement read: "The first team player Marcus Rashford has pain in his left knee after taking a blow in the game against Mallorca on Saturday at Spotify Camp Nou. The player will miss Thursday's Copa del Rey game against Atlético Madrid.
"Without Marcus Rashford and Raphinha still, the FC Barcelona first team squad trained on Wednesday at the Ciutat Esportiva with all the available players for the final session before the squad heads off to Madrid for the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Atlético Madrid, kick off 9pm CET. Hansi Flick will name his squad for the game in the Riyadh Air Metropolitano before departure."
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The absence of the 28-year-old is certainly quite the blow given he's scored and assisted 23 goals across all competitions for the Catalan outfit this season. It's been a fruitful season for Rashford who has already voiced his desire to remain at Barcelona following the end of his season-long loan.
Reports suggested that Barcelona offered United two alternatives in order to sign Rashford: signing the winger for less than his £26million buy option or extending his loan for another campaign with a obligatory purchase in 2027.
Marcus Rashford is loving life in Barcelona (Image: 2026 Getty Images)
However, according to Spanish publication Sport (via), the Spanish side have decided to permanently buy Rashford, but will renege on that plan only if he suffers a serious injury.
Rashford has been virtually ever-present for Barcelona this season, having only missed one game due to fever across every competition. The winger was only three months into his career in Spain when he was asked about the possibility of joining them permanently.
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He answered: "Oh yeah, for sure. I’m enjoying this football club and I think for anybody who loves football, Barcelona is one of the key clubs in the history of the game so to play here is an honour.
"I just believe that things happen when they’re supposed to happen. It’s not the first time I spoke with Barcelona about potentially coming here, but for whatever reasons it didn’t happen in the past, and now is my opportunity to make it happen. I feel like there’s no time like the present now."
Should Rashford make a return to Manchester in the summer, he would do so without a squad number given Matheus Cunha took his number '10' upon his arrival from Wolves last year.
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