Luke Shaw is looking to avoid major injury setbacks this coming season.
Unfortunately for footballers, injuries are inevitable, but Luke Shaw has suffered a number of serious injuries down the years.
There was a time when Manchester United had the best left-back in Europe, with Shaw at his best, though injuries would hinder his performances and make him unavailable for large chunks of the season.
The past two seasons have been that way for Shaw and he is now seen as one of the defenders who can play in the back-three instead of trying to perform as a wing-back in Ruben Amorim’s demanding system.
That is why the United head coach has signed players like Patrick Dorgu and Diego Leon since moving to Old Trafford from Sporting CP.
Amorim will hope that Shaw can not only stay fit next season, but also use his experience to help the younger players in the squad to kick on with their development as United defenders.
Luke Shaw reflects on injury nightmare at Manchester United
Shaw has admitted he struggled to deal with his “horrible” injury battle last season.
With Amorim arriving in October, results worsening and injuries persisting, the 2024/25 season was another one for Shaw to forget.
The 30-year-old revealed last season’s spells out pushed him to the brink mentally like never before, missing 48 of United’s 60 matches throughout the season.
“It’s something I’ve not experienced to be honest,” Shaw told reporters in the US, as quoted by The Mirror.
“I know I’ve had a lot of injuries, but it was more mentally how tough it was. It was really tough. I won’t go too much into that. I think last season it was one to forget.
“It was horrible. It started with a calf and I’ve never had a calf injury in my life, so I was never used to that. Things just kept happening and it was really stressful, but I’m grateful that I’m here now and I feel fit.
“I feel real happiness right now. I don’t want to keep banging on about last season, but I couldn’t have got any lower last season.
“So right now I feel really good, really happy with great people around me in the team and a really good manager. I can’t feel any better, to be honest. I’m really happy and I’m really looking forward to this season. I’ve got big ambitions this season and I’m looking to fulfil them.”
Letting Erik ten Hag down
In his interview, Shaw was very honest about his feelings towards former manager Erik ten Hag.
Shaw feels he left the Dutchman down by not being available when he was needed most.
“I kind of felt like I let Erik down with the injuries and stuff,” said Shaw. “I wasn’t there for him towards the end, and that wasn’t nice. Then, when the new manager comes in and we speak about different things, different aims for the rest of the season that we had, then I get injured again.
“For a lot of last season I just felt like I let a lot of people down in the club and the team, obviously because I was always injured. It was just something in my head where I found it really hard. I just put a lot of blame on myself.
“I just felt that I was letting the team down not being available for a long time. But the team and the manager were really good with me. Especially the manager, he stuck by me.”
Ten Hag is currently in charge of Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
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