England and <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/manchester-united/" target="_blank">Manchester United</a> star Marcus Rashford will miss his country's European Championship qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine this week after picking up an injury at the weekend. Rashford <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/02/12/red-hot-rashford-comes-to-man-uniteds-rescue-again-in-victory-over-leeds/" target="_blank">has been in scintillating form</a> this season with 30 goals for club and country but was injured during <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/03/20/manchester-united-v-fulham-ratings-fernandes-8-weghorst-5-mitrovic-3-willian-4/" target="_blank">United's FA Cup quarter-final win over Fulham</a> on Sunday. Tottenham Hotspur's Fraser Forster has been called up for injured Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope, the Football Association said on Monday. The 35-year-old keeper, who made his debut in 2013, has six England caps but has not played since 2016. Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount will also be missing having been out of action for his club since February because of a pubic bone injury. Rashford's absence is the most serious blow given his goalscoring form since the World Cup. The 25-year-old has notched a career-high 27 goals for United this season, 19 of which have come since returning from international duty in Qatar, where he netted three times in five appearances. England play Italy in their first Euro 2024 qualifier in Naples on Thursday before hosting Ukraine at Wembley on Sunday. The squad met at St George’s Park training headquarters on Monday, with 23 players reporting for duty. England will be hoping to bounce back from their <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2023/01/26/gareth-southgate-admits-he-considered-quitting-england-after-world-cup-heartache/" target="_blank">heartbreak at the Qatar World Cup</a>. There, captain Harry Kane missed a late penalty in the quarter-final defeat to France, later stating that it will haunt him forever. However, manager Southgate said that he expects the England star to bounce back quickly. Kane has not let it affect his domestic form, having scored nine times in 17 games for Spurs since the restart. “I don't think it's a big hurdle really,” Southgate said earlier. “I had a good chat with him while we were away. I sent him a message before he went back to his club and then I took a step back and had a look at how it was. “And I haven't really felt the need to pick the phone up. It [his recovery] is there in his performances for Spurs. “Sometimes you can busy yourself and look for a pat on the back by getting in touch with a player but I can't take any credit for what he's done.
