Alan Shearer sends Marcus Rashford 'wasted talent' message amid Manchester United absence

Former Premier League striker Alan Shearer believes Marcus Rashford and Manchester United must quickly resolve any issues after the forward was missing from Sunday's FA Cup tie with Newport County.

Rashford missed training on Friday due to illness and has been deemed not well enough to feature in this afternoon's fourth round clash with Newport. United did announce that the forward would miss the game and remain at Carrington as he recovers.

News of his absence at Rodney Parade comes following reports that the 26-year-old went out in Belfast before reporting himself too unwell to attend United training on Friday.

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Prior to the game, United boss Erik ten Hag refused to add to the speculation and gave a brief response to questions regarding Rashford. Speaking to the BBC, he said: "He reported ill. Lets say, it’s an internal matter, I’ll deal with it. It’s an internal matter."

But Shearer didn't hold back, suggesting something has to be done if Rashford is to return to his best. "If it’s an internal matter, you’d think something is up," he told BBC Sport.

"There’s a huge talent in there with Marcus Rashford. We’ve seen him be disciplined last season when he was late to a meeting before a game but something is clearly wrong - either at home or in his relationship with the football club.

"He can’t keep doing this, he can’t keep wasting his talent because it’s not right. He needs strong management, someone to get hold of him and tell him there’ll be huge regrets come the end of his career if he continues doing this.

"You can’t keep doing it,