Luke Shaw is as injury prone as anybody in world football, and this past season, he missed out from mid-February onward with a muscle injury. So when England manager Gareth Southgate included Shaw in his squad for Euro 2024, he admitted it was a bit of a “gamble” and a “wild card.”
???????? OFFICIAL: England squad for Euro 2024.
? Jack Grealish
? Harry Maguire
? James Maddison
? Jarrad Branthwaite
? James Trafford
? Curtis Jones
? Jarrell Quansah pic.twitter.com/j1teMHthfjโ Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 6, 2024
โHeโs progressed really well in the last couple of weeks,โ said Southgate, who axed Shaw’s United team-mate Harry Maguire due to his calf injury.
โAt the moment, we think he can have some involvement in the second group game. But of course, youโve got to keep hitting the markers.
โHeโs had a good volume of work operating at good speeds as well. I think you can take one gamble and thatโs the gamble that weโve got enough evidence to believe it can pay off.
โAnd also, positionally, because of what he brings, with his experience, the fact heโs a left-footer who can drive forward and give us a different attacking option as well, then it is a situation we wanted to explore.โ
Luke Shaw is among the best at his position when healthy (he even won the MUFC Player of the Season award a couple years ago), it’s just that he isn’t fully fit too often.
For today though, there is no need to dwell on that. Instead it’s just a great feel-good story for a guy who hasn’t had much good luck lately.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
He currently contributes toย Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMGโs NFL Wire Networkย and theย Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.ย His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated,ย Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times.ย You can follow himย on Linked In and Twitter.
