Luke Shaw’s absence is creating a huge problem for England, but as Euro 2024 ticks on, there is no sign of his return.
The Manchester United defender is the only natural left-back in the Three Lions’ squad, but he hasn’t played a minute of football since February.
The 28-year-old suffered a hamstring injury against Luton on February 18 and is still fighting to get back from it to take some part in the tournament.
But as England prepare for their final group game against Slovenia on Tuesday, live on talkSPORT, we are still wondering how close he is.
When will Luke Shaw be fit?
Well, the simple answer is we don’t know.
Shaw was included by Gareth Southgate in England’s squad in the hope he would be fit for the second group game against Denmark.
The Man United man even trained with the full squad on arrival in Germany, but since then, he’s been training individually.
Ahead of the match against Slovenia, Shaw was the only member of the squad to train on his own, suggesting he’s still some way short of being fit.
In his absence, Kieran Trippier has filled in at left-back.
The Newcastle man is naturally a right-back, but he’s doing a job for his country.
However, in the games so far, you can tell it isn’t his best position, so Shaw’s absence is causing a big issue.
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The decision to take an unfit Shaw has drawn a lot of criticism from many people, including Adrian Durham.
He told talkSPORT: “He’s [Southgate] stuck at left-back because Shaw isn’t fit.
“He’s decided to go with Shaw, and he’s suddenly become the best left-back anyone has ever seen – we are absolutely dependent on him.
“Ben Chilwell is sitting at home or on holiday doing nothing, but he is an orthodox left-back we could have taken out there.
“That was a big mistake, and it’s left us short.
“If Shaw doesn’t kick a ball in this tournament, that is on Southgate – he’s weakened our team by making that decision.”
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Southgate knew taking Shaw was a risk and admitted that when he announced the squad.
He said: “Shaw has progressed well in the last few weeks.
“We think he can have involvement in the second group game. He’s had a good volume of work and operating at good speed.
“I think you can take one gamble and that’s a gamble which we have enough evidence on that we can take. The fact he has experience and he’s a left-footer that can drive forward too.”
So far, it’s proving to be a gamble that hasn’t paid off.
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