Luke Shaw was the big gamble in England’s Euro 2024 squad and hasn’t been able to feature at all so far, but Gareth Southgate insists there is still hope for a player without an appearance at any level in four months
Luke Shaw can still play a part in this Euros.
That was the message from Gareth Southgate who has declared the Manchester United left back fit to play a role against Switzerland.
Shaw has not played since February because of a hamstring injury but has stepped up his training this week to push to be involved. The England defender’s lack of game time at the Euros has drawn questions as to whether Southgate’s decision to name him in the 26 man squad was a mistake.
But England boss Southgate says he can still be involved as he hinted his lack of match sharpness means he would be unlikely to start.
Southgate said: “There’s been some difficult days for him on his own through the last few weeks. Some great work by our medical and physical performances teams and I’m really pleased for him that he’s now an option for us. That balance is something that has been difficult for us.
“With Luke we initially thought third group game, first knockout game. That then looked like it might accelerate a bit, but we probably ended up sort of in the territory we thought we might be and given we had 26 we were happy to take that risk.
“We feel he can play a part now, and we’re still focused on being here for another 10 days. How much that part can be, who knows. But as we’ve seen in the tournament with the impact our substitutions have made, then, you know, five minutes, 30 minutes, 90 minutes, could be critical at any point.
“I’m pleased we’ve got him here because he’s unique in terms of the attributes he’s got for the position that he plays.”
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