Gareth Southgate to come under fire as key England star to miss Denmark clash
Man United’s Luke Shaw has been ruled out of England’s match with Denmark on Thursday which will raise questions as to why the left-back was brought to Euro 2024.
The defender has been out of action since February with a muscle injury and has only featured for the Manchester club 15 times during the 2023/24 campaign.
The 28-year-old has been Southgate’s starting left-back throughout his time with England but many questioned why the defender was being brought to Germany given his fitness issues.
The Three Lions boss will now come under more fire as Shaw has been ruled out of the Group C match with Denmark on Thursday. The left-back was named among the substitutes for Sunday’s 1-0 win over Serbia but will be absent from the bench in Frankfurt.
Southgate has stated that he does not want to put a timeframe on the Man United star’s return as his selection continues to baffle some England fans
Speaking about Shaw, Southgate has said via the Daily Mail: “Luke won’t be involved, no. He’s actually on track for where we thought he would be originally. We were hoping a couple of days ago we might accelerate that a little bit, but he needs a bit more volume work.
“He didn’t train with the rest of the group today, because there are days when he needs to do more than the rest of the group.
“There are days when he needs to recover when the others are pushing, so he’s still in and out with the others and operating on his own programme as well. We don’t want to put a timeline on it at this moment, but he is progressing well.”
Luke Shaw’s Euro 2024 selection is baffling
The decision to take Shaw to Euro 2024 has been a very strange one from Southgate as the left-back is clearly not fit and even if he does return, the defender has not played since February.
Left-back has been an issue for England recently and the Three Lions boss could have taken someone else to relieve some of the pressure placed on Kieran Trippier.
Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell has not had a good season at Stamford Bridge but the Blues star would have still been a better option than a half-fit Shaw. The Man United star’s selection has been a waste of a player selection and only time will tell if it somehow pays off for Southgate and England.
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