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4 months ago
35 Luke Shaw has reflected on his first appearance at Euro 2024, in England’s quarter-final win over Switzerland.
The Manchester United left-back says it felt “amazing” to return to action in a competitive match for the first time in over four months.
Shaw claims he has been surprised by his injury setbacks, despite the fact he’s had plenty of spells out injured throughout his career.
That didn’t stop Shaw from being selected in Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024. The Three Lions didn’t bring another natural left-back, which means Kieran Trippier had to start on his least preferred flank for most of the games up until this point of the tournament. It was a big gamble by the manager and he’s bound to be lacking in match sharpness ahead of the semi-final against the Netherlands.
Shaw played his first minutes of the European Championship on Saturday as England beat Switzerland on penalties. He showed great sportsmanship after the win by going over to the Swiss players rather than celebrating with his team-mates.
A hamstring injury kept him out of action since February.
“It felt amazing,” Shaw said, as quoted by The Mirror. “It’s been a really long road. I’ve had a lot of setbacks and I think the hard work I’ve put in, especially over the last few weeks, make it worthwhile.
“It was a very nice moment for me to be back on the pitch and to enjoy being back on the pitch. And to cap it off to win was a really nice feeling for me and a happy one.
“I think we all thought I would have been back a bit sooner. But unfortunately there were a couple of setbacks along the way, which made me want it even more, to be able to get back out there.
“Of course, I owe Gareth a lot for the faith he’s shown in me and for the trust he’s given me to be able to come and be a part of the squad, even if it’s in the later games that it has been so, yeah, I owe him a lot.”
Over the coming days, Shaw will try to prove his sharpness to Southgate, but it would be a stretch to expect him to start on Wednesday night in the semi-final.
The last thing United is Shaw picking up a fresh injury ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
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