Manchester United interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lauded Marcus Rashford after he played on despite suffering an ankle injury early in the 0-0 draw with Liverpool.

Rashford was clattered into by Jordan Henderson in the opening 10 minutes of a tense Premier League encounter at Old Trafford as United held firm to potentially dent Liverpool’s title challenge.

United’s striker carried on, but looked set to be taken off before first-half injuries to Ander Herrera, Juan Mata, and then the latter’s replacement Jesse Lingard meant Rashford had to continue for the duration.

Solskjaer, whose side slipped down to fifth due to Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Southampton, believes Rashford was the target of particularly harsh treatment from Liverpool.

‘We were very worried [about Rashford],’ Solskjaer told Sky Sports.

‘But he’s a warrior, he’s a Manc and he knows what this means. We had to keep him on, we’d already run out of subs.

‘We lost three players in the first half, all to hamstring injuries, and we should have taken Marcus off as well, because he was injured in the first minute.

‘It was in the first tackle that they made on him, one of plenty. Henderson went through his ankle, it’s like a balloon, but it was one of many, so if that’s not an accumulation of fouls I don’t know what is.’

United have a quick turnaround in fixtures, with Crystal Palace next up on Wednesday before they host Southampton prior to facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

But Solskjaer insisted he has the squad to cope, suggesting United’s famed academy may hold the solution.

‘We’ve lost a few with some muscle injuries and hamstrings, but we’ve got some good kids coming through,’ Solskjaer added.

‘We’ll have 11 players on the pitch on Wednesday, don’t worry about that. Luckily we’ve got two days recovery.’