Agony for Shaw as England lose again
Three years after suffering leg break, concussion halts left-back’s progress
THE thud was sickening, like a boxer going to ground. The fact that it was Luke Shaw made it all the more painful to watch.
Television declined to show the replay which was the right decision but left you trepidatious about the fate of the player. And it felt like we had been here before. When Shaw broke his leg against PSV Eindhoven in a Champions League fixture it was similarly gruesome, a double fracture three years ago that did not bear a repeat viewing. It felt voyeuristic to do so.
Occasionally there are reminders that contact sport can be brutal even without meaning to be. It was 47 minutes when Shaw went to head a seemingly innocuous ball played to Dani Carvajal. It seemed as though he simply headed his elbow, slipped to the floor with arms flailing, then bounced off the ground like a man unconscious. It was horribly uncomfortable.
Carvajal looked aghast and he had done nothing wrong. The severity of the injury did not really match the intensity of the clash. But Shaw’s England team-mates quickly crowded around.
Anyone who knows the back story would have been similarly concerned. Soon there was a small army of medics around him. It was a full seven minutes before the stretcher could move him and Danny Rose could take his place.
Thankfully the initial news was good. He regained consciousness in the dressing room and was walking. Though having suffered a severe concussion, the risks of which are shown to b ever more dangerous the more we discover about the brain, he should be playing again once he has sat out the appropriate time.
This was Shaw’s come back moment. He is 23 but has only played for six minutes under Gareth Southgate. The last time he started a game for England was three years ago to the day against Switzerland.
Life had already stalled somewhat by the time he has that awful fracture in 2015. At United he struggled with the magnitude of the club compared to the homeliness of Southampton, the cold demands of van Gaal compared to warm encouragement of Mauricio Pochettino. This week he conceded that maybe a taste for fizzy drinks did not exactly meet the required athletic demands.
The injury was an awful one. Just this week he revealed that the surgeons had hidden the truth from him. Had he flown home from Eindhoven that night, the blood clotting might have left him losing his legs. That it was discovered and that he stayed in Holland for the operation prevented a life-changing moment.
Even so, slowly, surely he has scraped his way back. It would take 11 months for him to return for United. By the time he did Jose Mourinho was in charge. He was watching on at Wembley last night, sharing the universal dismay.
For though M our in ho has demonstrated a degree of tough love for Shaw and a level public criticism that has time crossed a line most managers would draw, this season they seemed to be reconciled. Shaw has displaced Ashley Young and is United’s first choice left-back.
As such, Southgate could not ignore him. The England manager knew all about his talent from the time they had worked together at Under- 21 level. When he was a 19-year-old novice at Southampton, bossed a game against European Championship qualifier against Finland in November 2013 without needing to engage second gear.
So well has he done this week that Southgate had awarded him the start last night. More than that, he initially delivered. His first contribution was magical. Galloping down the left flank, like he did at Southampton, he never broke stride and delivered an exquisite cross for Marcus Rashford to finish.
A player as good as Carvajal had no answer to those surging runs. Yet within two minutes the tables would be dramatically turned. Carvajal would brush Shaw aside far too easily, deliver a pass for Rodrigo who would turn the ball back for Saul’s equaliser.
In one sense this is the life of the modern full-back. So aggressive are the positions that they inevitably invite space to attack in behind. Still, it was a mistake and a setback. That is what you get with Shaw. When he is pushing on, when he is lean and fit, his runs are as good as anyone’s. His delivery can be excellent as well. With Ashley Young approaching the end for club and country there is a window of opportunity which he appeared to have taken.
Hard now, in the aftermath of such a brutal injury, to assess his game. Probably his best bit s outweighed the bad bits. Probably he was on his way to nudging ahead of Rose to fill this spot.
He will not get the chance to do so at Leicester on Tuesday. It is to be hoped that soon he will though. He is a young man who has been through more than most football professionals.
At times it has looked as though he would never recover the promise of youth. Yet just lately he has done so. Last night was saw glimpse of that. It is to be hoped there will be many more.