England World Cup 2026 watch: Could Luke Shaw’s return to form and fitness earn him a recall? – The Athletic

You might not be surprised to learn that there is only one player at Manchester United who has started all 24 Premier League games this season.

But you might be shocked to learn who the perennial presence is: defender Luke Shaw.

In December, Shaw reached 300 games for Manchester United. It has taken him 12 seasons to reach that tally because of a long list of injuries.

Over the 10 years he has represented England, from his debut against Denmark in March 2014 until his last cap in the 2024 Euro final against Italy, he has earned only 34 caps.

He has missed over 300 games for club and country due to injury since joining United from Southampton in 2014.

While Shaw has achieved much in his career, there is the sense that he could have achieved much more had he not been so troubled by injury. It has been a career blighted by a physical fragility that has left a question of what might have been.

There is, however, still time for Shaw to finish his career strongly. He is still only 30 years old and currently enjoying one of his most productive seasons in terms of uninterrupted minutes on the pitch.

Will this return to consistent playing time get him back into the England squad? The problem for Shaw is that football moves on when players are absent, and that seems to be the case with his England career.

Luke Shaw playing for England in the Euro 2024 final against Spain (Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

So far, Thomas Tuchel has been looking in other places for solutions to the left-back conundrum, but Shaw’s consistency might offer him as a potential solution. There are just two more international friendlies before he names his squad for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer.

Myles Lewis-Skelly has been a favourite of Tuchel’s, but is hardly featuring this season at Arsenal, while Nico O’Reilly has been in and out at Manchester City in recent weeks, and was even used as an attacking midfielder during the 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last week.

Lewis Hall is enhancing his reputation at Newcastle United, although their defensive issues and inconsistent form haven’t helped his cause.

Hall leads the statistics compared to his English left-back rivals in crosses made (5.1 per 90 minutes), chances created (1.1), headed clearances (2.3), and interceptions (1.49).

Injuries have also hampered the cause of his club-mate Tino Livramento, who normally plays right-back but has played at left-back for club and country.

Similarly to Hall, Tottenham’s unconvincing form could be a problem for Djed Spence, while Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell holds up well statistically compared to the others, but seems to be invisible to Tuchel.

Even if Tuchel does favour a younger profile of player to fill the problematic left-back berth, Shaw’s re-emergence at United this season could give him a more experienced, battle-hardened backup option.

As The Athletic has previously highlighted, the groundwork for his consistent availability for United was laid towards the end of last season during a holistic two weeks in Doha, where his persistent injury problems were reassessed.

His role this season under Ruben Amorim eased the physical demands on him. Rather than playing as an attacking full-back, he was instead used on the left of a back three.

He was criticised by Roy Keane after a poor display against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in September and acknowledged he knew he had to improve in the new role.

His displays have been fairly consistent since Amorim’s departure, and he has returned to a more conventional left-back role, which has given him more opportunities to be more attacking.

Shaw hasn’t given up on playing for England at another major tournament. He became the youngest player to feature at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil when he played the entire 90 minutes of England’s 0-0 draw with Costa Rica. His injury issues robbed him of the chance to go to Euro 2016 and the World Cup in Russia in 2018, but he played and scored in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley and started every game at the last World Cup in 2022.

Tuchel has so far ignored his candidacy. He may have concerns, given Shaw’s injury history, that his body can’t withstand the demands of another tournament at the end of what could turn out to be his most prolific season yet in terms of minutes on the pitch.

When Gareth Southgate included him in his squad for Euro 2024, he admitted it was a gamble because of his fitness. He took the gamble in the knowledge of what Shaw could offer when required.

Tuchel doesn’t have that experience with Shaw and he appears to be going in a new direction.

While there may be younger options available, Shaw may still have something to offer Tuchel during his final considerations, especially if he can remain fit and is playing consistently under Carrick as United challenge for Champions League qualification.

There is still plenty for Shaw to play for with United this season. Whether that could lead to one more major tournament for England is doubtful, considering the make-up of previous squads, but all he can do is play consistently, something he hasn’t had the luxury of being able to do in the past.

Then it is down to Tuchel.