Marcus Rashford pictured in Belfast nightclub the night before missing Man Utd training through ‘illness’

The England international apparently enjoyed a midweek night out at Thompsons Garage club in Belfast, with footage surfacing on social media showing him entering the party arena on Wednesday night, according to Daily Mail. Sources close to Rashford revealed he had dinner and had to delay his flight home after falling ill. Even manager Erik ten Hag confirmed Rashford's absence was due to illness during Friday's press conference ahead of their FA Cup fourth-round clash against Newport County.

"This morning, Rashford was ill, and [Jonny] Evans was ill," the United boss said. "So we have to see how they recover, but we have, for the rest, players returning, like [Lisandro] Martinez, like [Luke] Shaw, like [Harry] Maguire, like Casemiro, which is a good thing."

A video shared by a user on X showed that Rashford was heading down the stairs of the nightclub along with a group of friends. The video was shared with a caption that read: "Rashford out in Thompsons last night in Belfast clearly not helping himself with regards to performance."

During the trip, Rashford also paid a visit to the training ground of NIFL Premiership side Larne, where former teammate Roshaun Williams is currently plying his trade.

It is not the first time that Rashford has been caught partying mid-season. In a previous episode, Rashford faced criticism for clubbing on his 26th birthday after United's defeat to Manchester City in October 2023. The party at Chinawhite had concluded at 3.30 am, but it remains unclear if Rashford stayed until then.

Although Ten Hag made it clear that he was not pleased with the striker on that occasion, he chose to defend him and said: "He [Rashford] is very motivated to put things right. He’s totally with us. He has made a mistake but that doesn’t say he’s not fitting in. I see him every day in training, what he’s doing, I know."

Rashford has been a shadow of his former self this campaign, scoring just four times in all competitions compared to his 30-goal haul achieved last term. However, he has scored in two of his last three appearances for United and will hope to continue his scoring streak when he makes a trip to Newport on Sunday for an FA Cup fourth-round fixture.