Manchester United are hopeful of Marcus Rashford recovering from a muscle injury in time to face Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup on Saturday, according to reports.

The 20-year-old picked up a strain during a 20 minute cameo in the Premier League against David Wagner’s side and missed Man United’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle as a result.

Jose Mourinho confirmed after the game that both Rashford and Ander Herrera, who hasn’t featured since the Tottenham Hotspur defeat, were nursing muscle injuries and insisted he didn’t know when they would return.

But according to ESPN‘s Rob Dawson, the youngster is in contention to face Huddersfield on Sunday, although the club may have reservations over throwing him back into the fray ahead of important games with Sevilla and Chelsea in such a short space of time.

This is where United’s litany of options going forward comes into play. Mourinho can now pick from Juan Mata, Rashford, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Alexis Sanchez to mould an attacking trio – or duo, should he opt for a 4-3-3 – most capable of supplementing Romelu Lukaku up front in particular games.

Some players will work better than others. Mata, for example, would be a better option over Rashford for the Sevilla clash, whereas the reverse may be true for Chelsea a few days later.

Plenty of debate rightly surrounds United’s defensive predicament – and specifically why Chris Smalling is still a first choice centre-back – but supporters can be extremely encouraged over what they have going forward.