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While Manchester United picked up critical points in a 2-0 victory over Everton Saturday at Old Trafford, it was a match that could bring more worry than relief for the club. The victory gives United two wins on the trot, but there is cause for concern over the health of forward Marcus Rashford. He exited the game in the 81st minute after pulling up when he received a pass on the break, and there is concern that Rashford could miss time if the injury is deemed to be serious.

Coming at a moment when United were just getting Christian Eriksen and Anthony Martial back from injuries and will also see Casemiro return from suspension next week, losing their talisman couldn't happen at a worse time. Rashford has scored 27 goals and assisted 10 more in all competitions which is more than every other forward for the club combined. Rashford has carried a lot of responsibility, featuring in a massive 48 games for the Red Devils this season, but that heavy workload is what the team needed to succeed.

With January acquisition Wout Weghorst yet to score a Premier League goal, Martial spending more time injured than healthy and the wingers being as unpredictable as they come, if goals aren't coming from Bruno Fernandes and Rashford then United isn't scoring. It's why even the slightest niggle causes Erik ten Hag concern, because not only are margins thin in the top four race but the team also can advance in Europa League where they face Sevilla on Thursday (you can catch all the Europa League action on Paramount+) and the FA Cup facing Brighton.

"I can't say in this moment, you are doctor, maybe?" ten Hag said after the match about Rashford injury updates. "I am not. We have to wait, how bad or how good it is. Obviously, he went off with a complaint, now we have to wait, set a diagnosis and we will see.

"Some things you can't avoid but it was avoidable. Why is the Premier League giving us the late Sunday night game [last week vs. Newcastle] and giving us the early Saturday game? I think it's not right."

Ten Hag is right that United have played a lot of games this season due to being in Europa League and Rashford has not only appeared in most of them but also withdrew from England duty during the March international break before then starting three games in a row in six days before picking up this injury. While depth is a concern for United, it is still up to a manager to protect their best players and figure out how to rotate even their stars when necessary. Having Rashford healthy for the season is much more important than United being more vulnerable to getting upset in one or two games that he could've rested.

If Rashford misses time, ten Hag's tactical tweaks will be tested in a big way because as a player he's irreplaceable in the XI. The hope would be that Martial can function as the nine but when the Frenchman has only logged 800 minutes across all competitions, that's an unlikely proposition. The good news is that Martial has scored seven goals and assisted two in those 800 minutes. including an insurance goal in Saturday's victory over Everton, but availability is your best ability. 

Casemiro's return will improve the defense so it's likely that United will be able to win more games in which they only score one goal but the injury list is growing. Luke Shaw and Alejandro Garnacho are already sidelined. Jadon Sancho is back but still has a long way to go to be a force in the attack and Antony hasn't shown the ability to be a consistent goal scorer in the Premier League.

The absence of top players can create the opportunity for someone like Antony to make a difference but with the magnitude of United's upcoming matches, the pressure could cause things to crumble. IT could be a season defining stretch upcoming for the Red Devils if they're without Rashford.