Marcus Rashford must rediscover his smile in order to get his career back on track, according to Manchester United icon Ryan Giggs.

The 27-year-old has endured a tough few months at Old Trafford after being left out of Ruben Amorim's squad. Rashford's was first axed in the Manchester Derby in mid-December and his last appearance came just a week before that, in the 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest.

As a result, United let Rashford join Aston Villa on loan for the remainder of the season during the January transfer window after Amorim made it clear he would not pick him. "I couldn't get Marcus to see the way you're supposed to play football and to train the way I see it," Amorim said. "Sometimes you have one player that is really good with one coach, and the same player with another coach is different."

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Giggs, who was on United's coaching staff when Rashford broke through in 2016, told The Sun: "Everyone will remember that smile and that enjoyment and freedom when he first came through — but he doesn’t look like that now.

"He’s a human being and he just doesn’t look happy. He looks like he’s got the world on his shoulders. He needs to play with that freedom and enjoyment that got him to where he is now."

Giggs also recalled how Rashford caught his attention and that of Louis van Gaal at Carrington. "It was basically a small-sided, eight-versus-eight game," he explained. "We saw Marcus go past a few players and put it in the bottom corner and then score another goal.

"Me and Louis just looked at each other and went, ‘We’ve got to pick this lad — he’s too good’. He came into the first team and, of course, scored on his debut and everyone will remember that smile, that enjoyment and that freedom. He had a bit of everything. He was brave, he had no fear, he would take players on and would score all types of goals.

"But for whatever reason, he’s had a decent career but he’s never gone on to be what I thought he would be. More so than anything, he’s a human being and he just doesn’t look happy. He looks like he’s got the world on his shoulders. And I don’t know why, because the lad who I saw and who I coached didn’t have the world on his shoulders. He just played with freedom, he loved the club and was a great lad but he just doesn’t look it now."