Luke Shaw has said that both he and Manchester United’s medical staff are to blame for his recent injury setbacks: “It’s kind of everyone’s fault.”
The 28-year-old was limited to just 12 Premier League appearances this season due to multiple injury setbacks and has not played since United’s 2-1 win at Luton Town on February 18.
Shaw had already missed three months of the season between August and late November, and then a further month until the start of February; which started a four-game run of starts, but the left-back was substituted off at half-time against Aston Villa on February 11 with discomfort in his hamstring.
“I felt something against Aston Villa and came off at half-time at Villa Park,” Shaw told British media. “It’s kind of everyone’s fault. Partly my fault, partly medical staff, I think everyone would admit that. I didn’t train the whole week.
“The scan came back and there wasn’t too much there. But I didn’t train all week, then trained the day before the game. If the manager asks me to play, I’m never going to say no. I shouldn’t have played.”
Shaw suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury at Luton in February (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)
Shaw added that by coming back “too quick” he suffered a new hamstring injury which was originally a six-week injury but ensured he could not play for United again in the 2023-24 campaign, although he has been included in England’s 26-man squad for the European Championship.
“I got a few people coming up to me, saying: ‘How can you not be fit for United but fit for England?’ But the circumstances were that I did push to do everything I can to be fit for United, and that’s been really my whole season. It’s been disappointing for me, but I want to do everything I can, first and foremost, for United,” Shaw said.
“It’s better for me to come out and say what happened, because I think there were a lot of questions over how I could be here and not United. That’s been playing on my mind a little bit because I don’t want people thinking that that’s what I’m doing.”
Shaw is going “day by day” in his return to fitness and will miss England’s group stage opener against Serbia on June 16 but is aiming to be involved in the squad against Denmark four days later.
GO DEEPER
Why Kieran Trippier at left-back for England is not the tactical problem people think it is
(Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
