Marcus Rashford has been left out of Manchester United’s squad for their game against Manchester City on Sunday.

The England striker started Thursday’s 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League but was substituted early in the second half.

He did not travel to the Etihad as he was not in the matchday squad.

Alejandro Garnacho was also left out of the group for the Manchester derby. Sources told ESPN that the decision was made by head coach Ruben Amorim and neither player is struggling with fitness issues. The Portuguese coach confirmed his motives in a pre-match interview with Sky Sports.

“I don’t want to send a message. It’s simply an assessment and they know it,” he said. “The players are really, really smart. Everyone understands my decision. I have to decide. It’s just a simple choice.”

“The context is difficult. We have to win games and we have a difficult situation. I pay attention to everything, the way you eat, the way you dress to come to the game. On everything. I do my evaluation and then I have to choose a lot of players.

“It’s the same thing all the time. After the last training there is a communication that goes to WhatsApp. You will receive the information. But they’re fine. They had training this morning, I was there. Everything was fine. “They trained really well.”

Rashford has scored three goals under new head coach Amorim. He was on the bench in the last two Premier League games against Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, both of which ended in defeat.

Rashford has a good record against City, scoring six goals in 22 games. He scored at the Etihad last season as United lost 3-1 to Pep Guardiola’s side.