Manchester United make further Luke Shaw statement following Erik ten Hag injury concern

Manchester United have clarified Luke Shaw’s injury situation following Erik ten Hag’s revelation that the English international is a doubt to face Manchester City.

After concluding their pre-season tour, Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United squad has returned to the United Kingdom to finalize preparations for the 2024/25 campaign.

Key players like Lisandro Martínez, Bruno Fernandes, and Kobbie Mainoo were absent from pre-season due to their involvement in the 2024 European Championships and Copa America. Following their extended breaks, they have rejoined the squad at Carrington.

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As United gear up for the new season, which begins with a home match against Fulham at Old Trafford, they are set to face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Community Shield on Saturday, August 10.

Despite contrasting Premier League campaigns last season, United secured a memorable 2-1 victory over City in the FA Cup final. However, manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Luke Shaw is one of four players who remain doubtful for the Wembley showdown.

“Harry Maguire missed the game (vs Liverpool), was a precaution but is still a question mark for Saturday,” Ten Hag told reporters on Thursday afternoon.

“So we have training, we have to see whether he is fit enough or not to be available. Victor [Lindelöf] played, but, also, he’s a question mark and also Azza [Aaron Wan-Bissaka] and Luke Shaw are both question marks; we have to assess them tomorrow (Friday).”

Although the news surrounding Shaw took many by surprise, with some fans groaning at the idea that Shaw had sustained yet another injury, United have now clarified the situation.

“Luke Shaw was not part of the tour but returned to Carrington this week following his summer break and his fitness will also be evaluated,” the club stated on their website.

This would suggest that rather than Shaw sustaining an actual injury, he may just be deemed as not fit enough to play in the final due to a lack of game time. He only returned to training on Monday, which was later than others such as Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho.

Further, Ten Hag clarified that those who returned later than the others are on individual programmes to tailor their fitness, which may simply be the case for Shaw, too.

“That is [on an] individual basis, and every [player] has a different background,” he added. “We put them all on off-season programmes, but they all have different starts as well in pre-season and in the weeks we were in the USA.

“So from individual to individual, we will assess them and make a decision whether they start, come from the bench, or they don’t play.”

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