Manchester United and England defender Luke Shaw has accepted some of the blame for his injury struggles as he searches for full fitness ahead of Euro 2024.
The 28-year-old has struggled for full fitness at Old Trafford, with Gary Neville, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and others critical of his approach to the game.
Those problems have been compounded by a serious leg-break injury against PSV Eindhoven in 2015, with the player needing surgery and suffering from two blood clots in the aftermath.
Despite those problems, the England man has often been United’s standout player and has improved markedly, being able to play not just as a left-back, but as part of a back three and as a wing-back.
The former Southampton player has again struggled for fitness under Erik ten Hag, starting the season with an injury problem and finishing in much the same manner, playing just 12 league games.
With no other left-backs picked by manager Gareth Southgate for the European Championships in Germany this summer, his readiness could be vital for the team’s chances of success, with Kieran Trippier also being employed in the position.
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Shaw said he suffered a further problem when he rushed to be fit for United’s FA Cup final against Manchester City after an injury problem that began in February against Aston Villa.
He was cleared to return for the Luton game that followed, but he felt that was a mistake.
“I felt something against Aston Villa and came off at half-time at Villa Park,” Shaw said.
“It’s kind of everyone’s fault. Partly my fault, partly medical staff, I think everyone would admit that. I didn’t train the whole week. The scan came back and there wasn’t too much there. But I didn’t train all week, then trained the day before the game. If the manager asks me to play, I’m never going to say no. I shouldn’t have played.”
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However, Shaw asserted that he was close to being ready for full training with his club.
“No one knows the situation, what’s been happening,” Shaw said.
“I think people have seen that there was a setback, but I was actually very close to returning to team training. I was, of course, pushing to try and get back for the games and the final and I think I pushed too hard.
“I came back too quick and I actually ended up getting another injury in my hamstring, which was three weeks from the final and they said it was a six-week injury, so that’s why there was that setback. I think people have been getting confused with what’s actually happened because nothing had been said.
“I got a few people coming up to me, saying: ‘How can you not be fit for United but fit for England?’ But the circ*mstances were that I did push to do everything I can to be fit for United, and that’s been really my whole season. It’s been disappointing for me, but I want to do everything I can, first and foremost, for United.
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“It’s better for me to come out and say what happened, because I think there were a lot of questions over how I could be here and not United. That’s been playing on my mind a little bit because I don’t want people thinking that that’s what I’m doing.”
Shaw is keeping the first group game against Serbia as his target for now.
“That’s not really down to me,” he said. “We just go day by day, see how I’m feeling in training. I would love to make the first game, but I don’t want to rush too quickly because realistically I’ve only got one chance. If I feel something, then that’s it. I don’t want that to happen.”
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