Manchester United & England forward Marcus Rashford has admitted he may need a shoulder operation this summer.
ESPN revealed in April that the 23-year-old has been playing painfully for the past two years with shoulder & leg problems.
Rashford scored 21 goals & recorded 11 assists for United last season, but is yet to start any England matches at Euro 2020, making three substitute appearances in a total of 58 minutes.
The forward is insisting on playing some role in Tuesday's knockout match against Germany at Wembley but has said he will decide whether to undergo surgery once England's participation in the tournament ends.
"I have to decide later. It's either an operation or I don't get the operation," he said. "Maybe on [my] shoulder but I'm not 100% sure I need it yet. So, I'll take it as soon as it comes. I'll end strong here & I have like I said." It's a few weeks. Relax & decide what I'm going to do."
An operation could potentially mean Rashford misses the start of the 2021–22 Premier League season, which begins for United with a home game against Leeds on 13 August, but Rashford said he had A possible timeline has not yet been discussed with the club's medical team.
"The doctors haven't said that yet," he said. "I don't know because when the season went on, & before I came here, I knew there was no chance I was going to have an operation so I didn't know how long the operation would take me out. will do it .
"I never bothered to ask questions. I am completely focused here. When the tournament is over I will ask questions."
England's upcoming game with Germany evokes memories of past era-defining clashes, with the Germans knocking their old rivals out of the tournament in 1990, 1996 & 2010, but Rashford insisted that this young group should That past should not be a burden.
"We are being put in a position where we are blessed to be a part of that history," he said.
"Our main focus is to win the game, but if we do that it goes down in history. That's how great teams are remembered for many, many years.
"There's no point in fearing the past. You can't go back & change it. All we can change is the outcome of the next game & put ourselves in the best possible position to win the game."
"Some players weren't even born [in 1990 or 1996]... No, for us Germany is a top, top team & we have shown that over the years but we can play against them, we can give them a good The game, & of course we've improved massively over the last two years against the big teams, we're getting better results.
"While, before that, we were playing fine sometimes, but most of the games they dominated, it was difficult for us to get goalscoring opportunities, & the game would usually be one or two-nil for them, but they would be games. in control of.
“That was one of the things that Gareth wanted to change. It was around the time of the Nations League [after the World Cup in 2018], we wanted to start pushing ourselves & trying to beat these big nations. Were, & gradually we started doing it some more often, sometimes drawing, but the game where it's very good margins, & very little losing.
"Anyone who's a fan of football, you get drawn to these kinds of games & that's fine. In the camp, it's different because as a player you have to focus. You have that build to be involved in. There's no time-up because there's too much emotion in the game & if you go on the pitch with all the build-up, we can end up with eight people on the pitch.
"So yeah, we're just focused. We're going to have a fair training week & hopefully we'll do our best in the game."