Now over six years ago, at only 18 years-old, Marcus Rashford got a late call from Louis van Gaal to start for Manchester United against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League after Anthony Martial sustained an injury in the warm-up. After 63 minutes, Rashford scored to level the aggregate scoreline, securing a debut brace only 12 minutes later as his side went on to progress.
Only three days after being an essentially unknown entity, Rashford had four senior goals to his name, following suit to his Europa League exploits by putting two past Arsenal on his Premier League debut.
Still a teenager, Rashford never allowed the instantaneous weight of expectation to burden his progress after bursting into the scene. However, six years subsequent to his emergence, he is currently enduring arguably the toughest period of his career to date.
Should people be alarmed by Rashford's recent regression? It has to be considered that many players are only just becoming fully-fledged at 24 years-old. For context, the rise in Jesse Lingard's stock only gained serious traction after his FA Cup winning goal in 2016 - he would turn Rashford's current age later that year.
By 24 years-old, Rashford has already played 295 times for United, not to mention his 46 outings for the English national team. Over his five full seasons in the first team at United, his lowest goal involvement tally over all competitions was in his first entire campaign - a total of 18, still. Since, he twice amassed 23 goal contributions before successively breaking the 30 goals/assists mark in each of the past two seasons, in which the 20 goal mark was twice exceeded.
Suggestions that Rashford has been underperforming for the past few seasons are no doubt reactionary to his current slump in form, plus perceptions have been skewed by his admittedly substandard Europa League Final showing.
His output has, overall, improved season-on-season, including last term, where injuries forced him to play at somewhere in the region of 75% fitness for prolonged phases; he still scored 21 times, providing 15 assists.
Towards the latter months of the 2020/21 campaign, Rashford was having to take injections to play in order to allow him to withstand troubles caused by an ankle injury sustained in March's Manchester Derby. Aside from playing football, Rashford was unable to even wear shoes due to the magnitude of his pain. No matter, his commitment overrode the discomfort and he continued to deliver on the pitch.
However, preceded by his heavily-criticised performance against Villarreal, things did begin to unravel during England's European Championship campaign, where Rashford's playing time was limited as his physical issues took greater charge.
For the majority of the season, Rashford had also been encumbered by a serious shoulder issue, which ultimately required a surgical procedure to correct. Hence, he missed the first two months of the current campaign - actually returning ahead of schedule due to a very successful recovery period.
The break had given Rashford time to recharge his batteries, with the ankle recuperated and time taken to overcome the woes of a missed penalty in the Euro 2020 Final. The freshness was telling in his first grace of a pitch after the layoff, equalising against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium only 17 minutes after his reintroduction to the fray.
However, things quickly seemed to catch up with Rashford. His form suffered - and he is still feeling the effects at the time of writing. Although, should it really come as too much of a surprise given the frequency of involvement after the best part of a year marred by injury, plus a multi-month layoff?
Since returning to the United side in mid-October, Rashford has already featured 24 times, including 14 starts. He has, however, only averaged 53 minutes per match over the course of the season; he has been substituted in 12 of his starts, meaning he has only completed two full matches.
It must be said, he was never particularly granted time to be phased back into the side as such - telling through his distinct lack of full 90 minutes. Compounded by Mason Greenwood's suspension, Edinson Cavani's continual injury woes and, initially, Jadon Sancho's subpar form, there has been sizeable reliance on Rashford to help spearhead the attack in tandem with Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was never going to be that straightforward.
Instead of the utterance of such realistic suggestions, much of the blame for Rashford's misfortunes is being shifted towards and targetted at his off-field work. There has been an ongoing narrative of him being 'distracted' by the aforementioned, which needs debunking.
Coincidentally, Rashford's goal and assist output has been better than ever since his charity work commenced during the first COVID-induced lockdown.
Many people don't realise the amount of time that footballers have aside from their day-to-day exploits. Just like any ordinary being, football players are able to have lives away from their work, in which they can pursue other passions that give a sense of fulfilment.
It is, simply put, illogical to consider that Rashford's charitable work is a hindrance in any manner. It is something to be appreciated, not irrationally criticised.
Why not, instead, consider factors such as that Rashford has played under four different longer-term managers - all with varying ideas and philosophies - in just six years at club level?
He emerged as a striker, promptly shifting onto the left flank - where he thrived when able to cut inside and drive at opposing players. At present, under Ralf Rangnick, he has been shipped onto the right side, where he lacks experience and is unable to maximise his assets, likely contributing to his current downturn.
No doubt, the next managerial appointment will be crucial for Rashford, who does need balance to ultimately realise his exponential potential in the coming years.
Accusations that Rashford is downing tools and not working hard are inconsiderate given his long-term allegiances to the club - both as a fan and as a player. He hasn't suddenly lost his eternal affection for the club. It is obvious that he is lacking confidence, causing portrayal as a disheartened and frustrated figure on the pitch. It is certainly not that he doesn't care.
The fact that reports which emerged after the Manchester Derby, suggesting that Rashford is considering his United future, were met with widespread support represents the reactionary nature of modern-day football fans, especially those riddling social media with promotion of thoughtless narratives. People should consider that players suffer from peaks and troughs by way of form and seasonal performances.
One things must be said: Marcus Rashford can never, ever be written off.
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