Luke Shaw’s career being placed in jeopardy, England taking risk with Manchester United left-back

Add as preferred source on Google

Manchester United’s Luke Shaw’s injury issues are seemingly exacerbated by poor management, and Gareth Southgate could be adding to it.

England fans are elated that Luke Shaw made a return in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, and had a good performance against Switzerland.

But the use of the Manchester United defender could be a danger to him in the short term and long term. 

• READ MORE: Who is Luke Shaw? Inside the life of Manchester United’s flying English full-back

England need Luke Shaw

The reason Luke Shaw is featuring at Euro 2024 is due to the fact that England have had a shortage of quality players at the left-back position.

Through the tournament we have seen how much the team have suffered due to the lack of quality produced by Kieran Trippier being out of position. The fact he must cut in for many of his attacking movements means his crosses are less impactful.

A lot of pressure is on Luke Shaw to perform and it comes after he has just recovered from a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Rio Ferdinand called for Shaw to start the quarter-final even if he was only 70 per cent fit, an unwise call.

The 2023/24 campaign saw the defender miss 204 days and 35 games in total. Shaw hardly featured, with only 14 appearances in total.

Suddenly being asked to play high-intensity games at the European Championships seems a recipe for re-injury and disaster.

Luke Shaw cycle continues

Erik Ten Hag’s handling of the defender, it can be argued, significantly exacerbated Luke Shaw’s injury issues.

The manager seemingly rushed the defender back into action prematurely, followed by subjecting him to an incredibly demanding schedule.

After being sidelined with a long-term muscular injury in late 2023, the player was immediately thrust into the frenzied festive schedule with minimal rest, and this lack of rotation persisted into the New Year, leading to a predictable reinjury.

The danger is that this cycle is being repeated again with the Three Lions. England Manager Gareth Southgate is desperate and he is gambling with Luke Shaw’s fitness.

When a player has recurrent injuries they must be handled carefully, with extra time and care taken with their rehabilitation to make sure they do not get injured again.

In this case, Shaw could play a semi-final just days after his return in the quarters, with the prospect of a third game in nine days if England reach the final.

By playing Luke Shaw at Euro 2024 there will be significant strains placed upon him far too early. One of the biggest risk factors is the lack of proper fitness maintenance and lack of recovery.

At a tournament, players cannot train properly, and most of the work done with tactics as the matches are so close together. Because of his significant time out Luke Shaw requires improving his fitness levels as he will have suffered significant deconditioning. 

The fast turnaround between the Swiss game and the Netherlands match is incredibly short for a player with such serious muscular injuries. Adding to this, it could be added to if England make the final.

This can all be a recipe for another big injury, and likely to be a serious recurrent one.

Luke Shaw: The Underlying Data

Adding to the injury concerns, Luke Shaw, when fit, has not had the best season. When a player recovers from long-term injuries, it takes them a while to get back to performance levels, and his underlying data reflects these struggles.

England may take Luke Shaw risk

Football is about risk and reward. Players often play through injuries for high-profile games. But the analysis adds a question of whether he is deemed “fit” and whether he will be a useful addition to the squad.

The reason why he is in the squad, his creative abilities as a left-back, are not up to their usual levels, even if they might be deemed preferable to any other option at England’s disposal.

It seems that Gareth Southgate is risking the health of the player and bringing a subpar player to the tournament when another fitter option could have been selected to the squad. In this scenario, the risk seems to outweigh the reward.