Manchester United are hoping Marcus Rashford will recover from shoulder surgery in time to feature in a crucial run of fixtures for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side at the end of October, sources have told ESPN.
Rashford is set to undergo surgery on his left shoulder after being hampered by it since November.
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The 23-year-old could be ruled out for as long as 12 weeks but there is hope he could recover in time to play in a tricky stretch of games starting against Leicester in mid October.
After travelling to the King Power Stadium on Oct. 16, United face Liverpool at Old Trafford on Oct. 23, Tottenham away on Oct. 30 before a home game with Manchester City on Nov. 6. United are also due to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Nov. 27 and Arsenal at Old Trafford on Nov. 30.
Scans undertaken after Rashford's season ended with England's penalty shootout defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final have revealed his shoulder injury is unlikely to sufficiently heal with rest alone and an operation could take place before the end of the month.
As well as struggling with his shoulder, Rashford has also been coping with a foot injury picked up in March.
Despite playing through the pain, he still managed to score 21 goals in 57 games.
Sources have told ESPN it is more than two years since Rashford played a game completely pain free.
Marcus Rashford hasn't played pain free in two years. Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
Meanwhile, United are expected to officially announce the signing of Jadon Sancho this week.
The 21-year-old underwent a medical on Tuesday and his £72.9 million move from Borussia Dortmund has been completed.
Sancho has been granted a three-week holiday following his time with England at the European Championship and is not expected to begin training at Carrington until August.
He could feature in United's final preseason fixture against Everton at Old Trafford on Aug. 7 before the new Premier League season kicks off on Aug. 14.
Source: espn.co.uk