Manchester United great Rio Ferdinand questioned Marcus Rashford's future with the Red Devils after the forward was only a substitute against Leicester City.

Ralf Rangnick's side, who were without Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani, limped to a 1-1 draw on Sunday with Fred cancelling out Kelechi Iheanacho's opener at Old Trafford.

Rashford was named on the bench despite the absence of the United attacking pair, with midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba preferred up top before the England international was introduced in the 55th minute.

The 24-year-old offered little after coming on, failing to register a single shot in his 35-minute cameo, winning none of his three duels and managing just 14 touches for the underwhelming hosts.

Indeed, Rashford has started just five Premier League games since Rangnick's arrival in December, racking up a meagre 564 minutes from the 12 top-flight appearances he has made under the German.

Rangnick justified his decision after the game as he cited a lack of confidence for Rashford, who has scored a league-high four goals from the bench, but Ferdinand questioned the reluctance to trust the striker.

"What Rashford must be thinking now – wow," Ferdinnd said on his YouTube channel FIVE. "Maybe there's a new contract negotiation behind the scenes but if you're him, you're thinking, 'How can I stay here?'.

"You're thinking, 'This gaffer does not fancy me. How can I sign this contract when the team would rather play without a striker than play with me?'.

"I'm not saying he's been perfect. If I'm Rashford, I'm thinking this guy doesn't rate me if he's going to play two midfielders up front.

"He hasn't played well enough to be selected if Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani are fit. It's a different case when he's going into a game with no striker.

"How bad must he be in training? How badly must he rate him to go into a game like that?"

United dropped further ground in the race for Champions League qualification, currently sitting three points adrift of fourth place, with the Red Devils' next clash coming at strugglers Everton on Saturday.