Luke Shaw has admitted he faces a battle to be fit for England’s opening game at Euro 2024, following Gareth Southgate’s decision to take a chance on the Manchester United defender.
Shaw has been out for four months with a hamstring injury exacerbated by his participation in United’s FA Cup Final victory over Manchester City last month. Despite not yet being in full training, Southgate included Shaw in the squad due to a lack of available left-backs.
Shaw, who reported for duty early to demonstrate his progress, said, “Of course, I would love to make the first game, I can’t lie. But it’s not down to me. At the moment we just go day by day, see how I react, see how I’m feeling in training.”
The 28-year-old is wary of rushing his return to avoid aggravating his injury further. “I don’t want to be in one of those situations where I rush back too quickly because realistically I’ve only got one chance. If I feel something, then that’s it—and I don’t want that to happen. I’ve had a tough few months. But things are looking much more positive now and I’m feeling good.”
Shaw expressed gratitude towards Southgate for his selection and is determined to repay the faith shown in him.
“I am progressing much better than they thought I would—and me, too. But I don’t want to look too far ahead. I’m very grateful to Gareth for picking me and showing the faith he has in me. For me, it’s about repaying that and doing everything I can to get fit and try and help the team win this Euros,” he said.
Shaw was a key player in England’s Euro 2020 campaign, scoring in the final against Italy, which England lost on penalties. The Three Lions are among the favourites to win their first major trophy since 1966 at this year’s tournament in Germany.
However, England’s preparations have been less than ideal, with a recent 1-0 defeat to Iceland at Wembley. Shaw revealed that Southgate conveyed his dissatisfaction with the team’s performance in no uncertain terms.
“Gareth made it very clear in the changing room what he felt. I’m not going to repeat what was said but we know we need to be better. The mentality needs to be better, attitude, performance—everything,” he revealed.
Shaw believes the squad cull that saw senior players like Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire, and James Maddison excluded may have affected team morale. However, he also views the defeat as a potential wake-up call. “This could have been the best thing to happen to us. It made us realise that going to Germany is not going to be an easy ride. It’s going to be very very hard and it’s going to take a lot of determination from the team to do well.”
