Manchester Evening News reporter Samuel Luckhurst has asked more questions than he has answered in his latest report on Manchester United’s Luke Shaw.
The left-back has been absent from recent teams due to injury, following Erik ten Hag’s 4-0 loss to Brentford in favor of new signing Tyrell Malacia.
And Luckhurst believes the manager expected Shaw to be fit for United’s final game against Real Sociedad, which could have been an opportunity for him to get minutes after Malacia had played 3 games in 8 days.
But according to the reporter, “The 27-year-old was in line to start against Sociedad but did not take part in United’s open training session the day before the Europa League defeat.
“Shaw’s injury is believed to be minor and United manager Erik ten Hag said the left-back had a ‘small complaint’.
“Ten Hag wanted to include Shaw in the 20-man squad at Leicester, but the defender was still struggling with his injury and United had to name two goalkeepers on the bench.”
There’s a suggestion from a Luckhurst hint here that Shaw is changing the lead a bit, at least, that he might be being a little weird.
The Englishman missed the end of last season when he underwent surgery to remove the pins in his leg that were put in due to the fracture of his double leg, sustained during a Champions League match against PSV Eindhoven in 2015.
Ironically, that injury happened seven years ago, on the day of United’s next game against Sheriff Tiraspol, another day out of Europe.
Luckhurst further notes that “the timing of Shaw’s unavailability could affect his chances of inclusion in the England squad, with manager Gareth Southgate announcing his match for this month’s Nations League ties with Italy and Germany on Thursday.” .
Given his recent lack of playing time, it seems highly unlikely that the former Southampton man will make the cut.
With the chances between now and November looking slimmer, it seems more likely that Malacia will be the one to head to Qatar, even though he normally has to settle for playing second fiddle to ex-United man Daley Blind. on the left side or side for Holland. And with the Dutchman’s confidence rising with each game, Shaw’s inability to be fit when the opportunity beckons could be a “sliding-door” moment for his future career.
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