Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has defended his handling of Marcus Rashford.

Rashford suffered a double stress fracture of the back after Solskjaer threw him on as a late substitute in United's 1-0 FA Cup replay win over Wolves .

Solskjaer has been criticised for not protecting Rashford, who had been suffering from a back complaint, and hit back at claims the injury could have been avoided.

“He's not had that injury before, no," said Solskjaer. “He complained a little bit after Burnley , he felt it the first time, and we managed him as well as we could then.

“He had some days off for treatment, he was taken off in games and suddenly this was a new injury. He didn't have any injuries before then.

“He will be out for a while, he'll get the time he needs to recover.

“We're always looking at improving the squad and seeing if there's anything out there, but nothing I can talk about now."

Asked how Rashford was, with the England striker facing up to three months out, Solskjaer said: “Marcus is good, he's a positive guy and he knows this is not what he wanted, but he's always positive.

“He wants to get back as quickly and safely as possible, and we'll give him that time. When he feels ready and he's medically cleared, he'll be back.

“Mason [Greenwood] is going to get more chances now, Juan [Mata] will have to step up again, there'll be more chances for ones in the squad.

“We know we're stretched for numbers but we'll cope with that."