Manchester United wave goodbye to a rollercoaster 2022 with their game versus Wolves on New Year's Ever. However, much to everyone's surprise, the club have dropped their star man of this calendar year: Marcus Rashford.
The English attacker has been tremendous this season under Erik ten Hag, bouncing back from his struggles under Ralf Rangnick to produce 10 goals and four assists across all competitions for the Red Devils.
In fact, the 25-year-old was in brilliant form in his team's first Premier League game after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with the Three Lions ace scoring once and assisting another in his side's 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
But despite all of this, Marcus was dropped for Manchester United's trip to the Molineux Stadium. What raised eyebrows even further was his presence in the subs list, hinting that his absence from the lineup wasn't due to fitness.
When speaking just before kick-off, Erik ten Hag revealed the reason behind this decision, admitting to BBC Sport that this was due to "internal disciplinary".
"Internal disciplinary. No [details]. Our rules. Now focus on the game," the 52-year-old said.
"He is in very good form and no-one can play all the games."
The Dutch tactician is making a name for himself as a disciplinarian, recently taking to task with Cristiano Ronaldo after that falling out. However, no one expected Rashford to exhibit unacceptable behavior.
Ten Hag did not reveal what the Englishman had done wrong, and as a result, it is difficult to make any predictions surrounding this situation. Ronaldo's career at Old Trafford took a turn for the worse after falling on the manager's wrong side. However, it should be noted that Argentine youngster Alejandro Garnacho faced disciplinary issues as well but remains a key member of Ten Hag's squad.
The Premier League giants will now need to beat Wolves, not only to end the year on a win but to also avoid the Rashford situation taking center stage should the result go bad. The Red Devils are currently fifth in the table, only a point behind fourth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand, and could temporarily leapfrog Conte's men.
