Manchester United and England left-back Luke Shaw is still missing from full training as doubts grow over whether he will make the Three Lions' final Euro 2024 group game versus Slovenia on Tuesday.
The former Southampton man has not been in action since February owing to the severe muscular injury he sustained while playing for Manchester United, and it has now been 12 months since he last played for England.
Nevertheless, Shaw was named in England's provisional Euro 2024 squad, although Gareth Southgate admitted at the time that the 28-year-old would be a "long shot" for the European Championships.
Shaw was unsurprisingly not involved in either friendly against Iceland or Bosnia-Herzegovina, but he survived the cull when Southgate chopped his squad down to 26, which is more than can be said for Jarrad Branthwaite or Harry Maguire, who has been dealing with his own calf problem.
The left-back was stepping up his recovery in training with the hope that he could be available for England in the group stage, but he failed to make an appearance against Serbia or Denmark, as Kieran Trippier deputised.
Shaw's absence means that Southgate has had no out-and-out left-backs available to him for England's opening two Euro 2024 clashes, with only Ezri Konsa and Joe Gomez also capable of functioning in that position, although both men prefer to be deployed centrally or on the right.
25 players are on the pitch for this morning's training session, as @LukeShaw23 continues his individual programme elsewhere. pic.twitter.com/3LAkYWtlKS
— England (@England) June 22, 2024
Two days on from the 1-1 draw with Denmark, England have confirmed that Shaw is still being restricted to individual training, raising doubts over whether he will be fit to face Slovenia on Tuesday.
The Three Lions' failure to beat Denmark means that they are still yet to wrap up qualification for the last 16, but they will guarantee a top-two finish with a point in their final group game and will likely go through as one of the best third-placed teams even if they suffer a shock loss.
What changes could Southgate make against Slovenia?
Southgate's decision to select Shaw is backfiring horribly at the minute, and the England boss has also come under fire for his side's underwhelming displays in their opening two Euros ties, especially the pitiful performance against the Danes.
The 53-year-old put out the same starting XI for both matches but is now expected to tinker, potentially sacrificing Trent Alexander-Arnold and abandoning the midfield experiment in favour of Conor Gallagher.
Alternatively, Jude Bellingham could drop into a deeper role with Declan Rice, allowing Phil Foden to take up a central position, an area where he was dangerous in the stalemate against Denmark.
Such a switch would allow either Anthony Gordon or Eberechi Eze to strut their stuff on the left wing, and there has even been talk of Harry Kane being demoted for Ollie Watkins, but Southgate's captain should realistically be in no danger of the axe.
Ben Knapton
