Marcus Rashford has found a new lease of life at Manchester United after falling out of favour at the club, which led to loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona

Manchester United have been handed what Nicky Butt describes as a £70million Marcus Rashford boost, with the former midfielder outlining the rare situation surrounding the winger’s return. The England international has been given a fresh opportunity at the club, and fans responded with a warm welcome as he returned to Old Trafford for the first time in 18 months.

Being greeted by hordes of United supporters, wearing club colours and training with his teammates, is a scene many believed would never be witnessed again. The clearest sign that Rashford’s story at United looked finished came last summer, when his No. 10 shirt was handed to Matheus Cunha.

Before this season began, Rashford had not played a competitive game for United since December 2024. But the club have opened the door to a reintegration during pre‑season, and he is now firmly part of Michael Carrick’s plans, featuring in their first two Premier League games.

Rashford will remain at the club until at least January when the window reopens when clubs can make an approach.

Speaking about the situation, former United midfielder Nicky Butt suggested he hopes this is the start of a redemption story for the winger. He told Midnite: “Are we witnessing the start of a good redemption story with Marcus Rashford? You’d like to think so.

“It’d be a really nice story for someone to have had such a bad time for a couple of years at United. He’s come through the academy as a superstar and potentially could have been should be up there with the likes of [Kylian] Mbappe. He went away, did okay at [Aston] Villa, went away, did well at Barcelona, and then it went sour for him.

“The reception he’s got is amazing. You think about it because there’s not many clubs that give a player a reception like that when he’s walked away from the club for whatever reason. He’s back there now. He’s out and out on the one of the top players in Europe on his day.

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“But the thing with Marcus is he has to be on it every single minute of the day because the minute he steps his foot off the pedal – there will be critics around the club. It will happen. Ex-players will be saying ‘Is he really going to be there? Is his heart there?’ But he is without doubt a 70 million pound signing to come back.”

Rashford left United after falling out of favour under former manager Ruben Amorim. The Portuguese coach dropped him in December 2024 and fired a warning to the forward, saying: “Our team should be so much better with Rashford but he has to change.

“If he changes, we are more than welcome to put in a talent like Rashford and we need it.”

He then went on to enjoy success away from M16, joining Villa in search of first‑team minutes. A permanent move to Villa Park never materialised and he ultimately completed a switch to the Camp Nou.

Rashford thrived under Hansi Flick, but Barcelona chose not to make the move permanent, instead signing Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United.

Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall says she is “lucky and blessed to be alive” after being involved in a car crash.

The 27-year-old American was on her way to training last week when she was involved in a “very scary” head-on collision, leaving her with a “severe” concussion.

While not ruling herself out of this month’s inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, the reigning world champion says she has been unable to train since the accident.

“Luckily I walked away without any major injuries,” Davis-Woodhall wrote on social media.

“At this point I’m working with my team and doctors to get healthy, but I’m not sure if I will be ready to compete at Ultimate Championships next week. More updates to come.”

Davis-Woodhall said her injuries were not life-threatening but that both cars, which were going at about 20mph, were written off.

“It’s really unfortunate timing; I am at the peak of my training right now,” she said.

“I’m as fast as I’ve ever been. I’m as strong as I’ve ever been. So this decision is very difficult for me. I don’t know where I am right now.”

The championships in Hungary start on 11 September, where athletes will compete for a top prize of £111,000.

The competition brings together Olympic, world and Diamond League champions, as well as the year’s leading performers in a three-day end-of-season event.

Davis-Woodhall won long jump gold at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, before winning the Worlds in Tokyo a year later.

World number three Jessica Pegula raced into the third round of the US Open on Wednesday, dominating on serve in a 6-3, 6-1 victory over compatriot Sofia Kenin. Pegula needed just 56 minutes to get past Kenin, the former Australian Open champion now ranked 110th, dropping just seven points on serve. “I was just trying to stay focused on what I needed to do,” said Pegula, who is among a trio of players who could supplant Aryna Sabalenka atop the world rankings in New York.

Pegula, who reached the US Open final in 2024, next meets another former finalist, Leylah Fernandez.

The Canadian breezed past Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1.

Defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka highlighted the day-four action.

World number one Sabalenka, gunning for a rare US Open three-peat, takes on 160th-ranked Russian qualifier Polina Iatcenko before second-ranked Alcaraz caps the night session against Portugal’s Jaime Faria.

Alcaraz won his seventh major title at the Australian Open in January but arrived in New York an unknown quantity after a wrist injury forced a four-month layoff that saw him miss Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

He dispelled doubts with a straight-set victory over Roman Safiullin and will look for further improvement against 72nd-ranked Faria.

Other seeded players chasing third-round berths on Wednesday included seventh-seeded former champion Daniil Medvedev, eighth-seeded American Ben Shelton and his 11th-seeded compatriot Frances Tiafoe.

Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur was hoping to finally get his campaign underway in a first-round match against Italian Andrea Guerrieri that was postponed from Tuesday by rain.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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David Vandyke is feeling positive about Oregon Coast’s prospects at Ipswich on Wednesday, especially considering her past performances against horses like Pembrey and Chilly Girl.

While the latter two are highly fancied for the Group 2 Furious Stakes at Randwick this Saturday, Oregon Coast will be contesting the Racing and Sports Fillies and Mares Plate (1200m). Nevertheless, capitalising on established form lines, a strategy Vandyke used when purchasing her, could yield positive results in this midweek race.

Under previous trainers Brett and Georgie Cavanough, Oregon Coast debuted in the Group 3 Widden Stakes (1100m) at Rosehill, finishing sixth behind the unbeaten Chilly Girl on January 31.

In her subsequent outing, the filly secured second place at Eagle Farm, finishing 5½-lengths behind Pembrey a fortnight later.

The three-year-old was later purchased by Vandyke online for $100,000.

“One of my clients races her mother (She’s On Time) and she alerted me that this filly was up for sale,” Vandyke recalled. “I watched her two runs and it was a slashing run against Pembrey who has certainly come out and proved the form. There was a bloodstock agent selling it who I know so I rang him and he said ‘she’s fine’ so we bid on her and we were very happy to get her.”

“She’s been in work for five months so I’ve taken her along slowly and didn’t want to run her in races I didn’t think she could win. She drew badly last week so I scratched her but she has a good gate tomorrow (barrier three).”

The ride on Oregon Coast has been assigned to Ben Thompson, the current Queensland Jockey Of The Year.

“With her form, she should be very hard to beat in a maiden at Ipswich,” Vandyke concluded. Look up the latest Australian betting sites for odds on this promising filly.

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A pioneering British sportswoman who broke her neck in a car crash when she was 16 says that after the accident, she decided to make the most of what she’d got. Nathalie McGloin became the world’s first and only female tetraplegic racing driver, racing against both able-bodied men and women. Her story is proof that both gender and disability are completely irrelevant when it comes to racing cars. She spoke to us about her life and her charity Spinal Track. 

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“You need the right people around you, the right support and the right opportunities at the right time.

“That’s what these two projects are all about. LN4 Fusion is about building a race team that can compete with the best in junior motorsport, with great people and a great environment for drivers to develop.

“The LN4 Legacy Programme is about helping talented young drivers get opportunities they might not otherwise have.”

Norris’ programme will run teams in the Italian F4 Championship, FIA Formula Regional European Championship and FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2027.

The aim is also to compete in Formula 2 next year, but the application process for that has not yet been completed.

Norris will be co-owner of the project along with an investment group run by businessman Dan Richards, who has a background in technology, particularly in healthcare and data security.

The main headquarters of the programme will be in Veneto, Italy.

The UK arm, led by Dan Hazlewood, head of the Fusion Motorsport karting team, will be based in Cambridgeshire and run a programme in British F4.

The young driver programme will be run by Julian Rouse, who was formerly head of a similar programme for the Alpine F1 team.

Richards said: “What we have created is far more than simply the acquisition of a racing team.

“We have assembled a rare combination and secured the right sporting leadership in the industry: an established operation, a Formula 1 world champion, the most successful team principal in junior single-seater racing over the past two decades, world-class motorsport expertise, significant investment and a shared ambition to build a team capable of competing at the highest levels of the sport.”

Rosin said: “Having Lando on board adds a further dimension to this project. He has come through the junior single-seater ranks and understands its demands. His involvement will make a real difference to the team.”