Shaw was forced off during the first half of the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Old Trafford and did not feature in the game with Villarreal four days later.
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Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw has opened up on how he has been dealing with his injury in recent weeks. The English international was forced off during the first half of the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Old Trafford and did not feature in the Champions League game with Villarreal four days later. However, Shaw returned to play the full 90 minutes against Everton and did the same in England’s 1-1 draw with Hungary. But, he has been training less in order to manage the issue. With the club season resuming again, United will be eager to have the left-back fully fit.
Ahead of the weekend trip to Leicester, Shaw, who has started all but two of United’s last 25 league games, has given a word of encouragement in a recent interview. He feels that the full appearances against the Toffees and Hungary have helped. “I’m feeling much better now than I did in the last few weeks,” Shaw told club media. “To be honest, I hadn’t really trained at all. Leading up to the game against Villa, obviously I was ill and I had to come off then.
“Leading up through the week I didn’t even train to be honest. That was a bit of a struggle because I didn’t feel 100 per cent fit but like I said, whatever the team needs, if they need me I’ll always make myself available. With England I didn’t really train much either there to be honest but I managed to get another game in but I’m feeling much better now and hopefully I’m feeling much more fresher than I definitely have in the past month.”
Shaw had a memorable 2020/21 campaign for United, and his impressive performances saw him being named in the PFA Team of the Year. The full-back carried that form into the Euros, playing six of the seven games. He also scored the opening goal for the Three Lions in the final defeat against Italy.
“To be fair I’ve been quite patched up over the last month,” he continued. “Like I said, my whole left side has been patched up but it’s gradually getting better.”
“I still need it [the strapping] now but things are obviously getting better so hopefully I’ll get rid of it soon. I don’t think I’ll be doing a Jamie Vardy and having to wear it all the time!”
In this international break, some Manchester United players had a memorable time. Cristiano Ronaldo scored again, a late winner for Scott McTominay and Jadon Sancho looked really sharp for England. When asked whether sometimes international breaks help players in terms of confidence, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replied, “Definitely.”
“Sometimes, you know, when you go away, you see your mates again, team-mates that you’ve had for many years. Cristiano, as we said, actually set four records along the way. Jadon, Jesse played for England, Luke is back fit again and played for England. And, of course, Paul, Anthony and Rapha lifting a trophy, it’s bound to give them confidence and a feelgood factor.”
