'To push him': Thomas Tuchel reveals reason behind Aston Villa loanee Marcus Rashford's England recall

Rashford has returned to form since arriving at Villa Park - making a big impact alongside fellow January signing Marco Asensio.

He hasn't featured for England for 12 months - with his last call-up coming in March 2024 for England's clash with Brazil.

His omission from the national squad coincided with issues at his parent club, with Manchester United manager publicly criticising the forward.

But Tuchel has seen enough during his short time at Aston Villa, and he revealed why he made the decision to recall Rashford, with the forward now a strong contender for the 2026 World Cup.

He said: "Of course, everyone with us on this journey in the first camp is a contender for the World Cup.

"At the same time, it is only the first step. The nomination is not the nomination for America. We had tough decisions to make and waited until the Champions League games were over to make the decisions.

"Marcus is a familiar face who is back in the team. I felt that Marcus has had a huge impact in Aston Villa since he changed to Aston Villa.

"He has had a huge impact from the bench, mostly from the bench, two matches from the start in the Champions League.

"His impact was impressive, his physical impact was impressive and mostly importantly his work against the ball, his work rate and defensive impact, hard working in counter pressing and tracking back was impressive.

"I had a strong feeling we should bring him back in to push him to stay on that level and not fall back on old routines.

"He has been very impressive, this camp is to bond with him, get to know him and push him to stay on that level."