15 March 2024 , 00:00
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Gareth Southgate has hinted that Luke Shaw could play again this season - days after Erik ten Hag ruled the Manchester United defender out for the rest of the campaign.
Shaw has been sidelined since picking up a muscle problem during United's 2-1 victory over Luton last month. Speaking on March 8, Ten Hag appeared to suggest that the England international will be out for the rest of the season, alongside fellow left-back Tyrell Malacia, who has been missing with a knee injury.
Ten Hag said: "We're talking about one of the biggest frustrations. You can accept in one position that a player is not available, but when two players are not available over the course of the season, that's very frustrating."
But now, after picking his England squad for two international friendlies against Brazil and Belgium later this month, Southgate revealed that Shaw could be back before the end of the campaign. The Three Lions boss is hoping Shaw will be fully fit for Euro 2024, which gets underway in mid-June.
Southgate said in a press conference: "We are all hoping - ourselves and Manchester United - that he could be back just before the end of the league season. But that is getting really tight to the Euros, and there is a reality about whether it’s possible to play seven games in the Euros.
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"What we've learned from the two or three tournaments in which we have played seven matches, we’ve learned a lot of information about physically what a tournament takes.
"So there is getting fit to play, but there is also what that means about level of performance. You don't know what version of the player you're going to get. He’s a player, clearly because of his quality and because of the depth in that position, who is very important to us. But it is going to be a close thing I think."
Shaw suffered the injury in the 2-1 win over Luton (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)Shaw isn't the only England player injured ahead of the March international fixtures. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marc Guehi, Reece James and Jack Grealish are among those to miss out on selection - but Southgate is looking on the positive side with the players they have brought into the squad instead.
"We seem over the last few weekends to have lost two or three players every weekend, so we are inheriting issues that are apparent at some clubs at the moment," Southgate said.
"But they are completely out of our control, and you have to adjust and adapt to make the best decisions possible once you are in that situation. And of course, it gives opportunities for other people to come in and stake a claim, so we are always looking at the positive side of it."
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