Marcus Rashford's mum, Melanie Maynard, has revealed the Manchester United forward has been 'affected greatly' by the deaths of two people close to him.
Rashford has been criticised for his below-par performances this season, with United currently sixth in the Premier League table.
The England international has scored eight goals in all competitions. It's a low tally by his high standards after netting 30 last term.
In a recent column for The Times, Maynard explained the emotional turmoil Rashford has experienced over the last year.
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A close family friend named Garfield Hayward died in 2022 and Rashford's cousin, Nathan, died in November 2023.
Both were hugely important to the 26-year-old's development and their deaths 'set him back a lot'.
She said: "Marcus lost a second very important person in his life: his cousin Nathan in November, after a very good family friend, Garf, had died a year earlier, which set him back a lot. It was a lot for someone so young to deal with.
"Marcus is human, so he will have ups and downs in his life like everyone else. Marcus is in a very good place, he will never let anyone down.
"But you always need to be wary of people’s intentions around you — sometimes people around you can be wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing."
Rashford dedicated his brace for England in a 3-0 win over Wales at the 2022 World Cup to Hayward.
He then paid tribute to Nathan after scoring a penalty in this month's 2-0 victory against Everton.
Rashford recently hit back at his 'doubters' in an article for the Player's Tribune. Since then, he's scored three in three games.
He scored the equaliser in Sunday's 4-3 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals, taking his tally against United's bitter rivals to seven.
Topics: Marcus Rashford, Manchester United, England
Daniel Marland