Gareth Southgate heaps praise on “best in the world” Man United star who’s injured

Gareth Southgate has given his verdict on whether or not Luke Shaw will be able to play in EURO 2024 after his injury at Manchester United.

Last month, Luke Shaw picked up the reoccurrence of a muscle injury that Manchester United explained has ruled him out for three months, making it a race until the end of the season to be fit.

Shaw is an integral part of Gareth Southgate‘s England squad, even to the point where he is at St George’s Park to continue his rehabilitation around the rest of the team despite being far from fit to play.

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It is theorised that Shaw may be able to recover in time to travel to Germany with the England side this summer. However, Southgate has now revealed that his injury is “right on the edge”.

“He’s going to be right on the edge of the season,” Southgate told reporters. “We know now to play seven matches in a Euros is highly unlikely.”

Shaw “one of the best”

In Shaw’s absence, Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell started at left back as England fell to a 1-0 defeat against Brazil at Wembley Stadium. Southgate admitted that although he feels Chilwell is a good player, he is not comparable to Shaw.

“I thought Ben defended really well (against Brazil), and it was an important game for him. I don’t want to kill Ben. But Luke is one of the best left-backs in world football, frankly.”

Another injury…

Shaw is not the only injury worry for England and United – Harry Maguire was sent home from the camp on Sunday following a scan.

Maguire will return to Carrington in the next few days to undergo further tests to work out the nature of his injury. However, it is not thought to be too serious.

Fabrizio Romano explained on Sunday evening that Maguire is not expected to be out for a long time with the injury, which was initially described as not serious – but his next scans will clarify more.

England’s next fixture comes against Belgium, again at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday evening, when Kobbie Mainoo could make his first start after making his debut on Saturday.