Gareth Southgate has said he believes Luke Shaw has a “good chance” of making England's final squad for Euro 2024 despite the defender having not played competitive football since February.
Shaw's last appearance for club or country was on 18 February, when he limped off with a muscle problem early in the second half of Manchester United's 2–1 win at Luton Town.
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Southgate admitted in last month's provisional squad announcement that the 28-year-old was “against” his bid to catch the plane to Germany, and the England manager had until Friday night to narrow down an initial selection of 33 men to a maximum of 26.
But Shaw reported early for England duty after the end of the domestic season as he battles to prove his worth and Southgate offered an encouraging update when speaking to reporters on Sunday.
“I have to say he's progressing very well,” Southgate told TalkSport. “I think I said last week that until we had the players in front of us working with us, there was a lot of information we didn't have.
“We are happy with his progress. There is still a lot to do before he can take the field in a game situation.
“But I'm very pleased with the work he's doing with our physical performance team and our doctors, so yes, he has a good chance.”
Shaw amassed 31 caps and scored the first goal in England's Euro 2020 final loss to Italy. Left-back is a problematic position for England as Kieran Trippier, normally used at right-back, is the most likely candidate to start at Euro 2024 if Shaw is unavailable.
Asked if it was worth betting on Shaw's inclusion even if he is not fully fit, Southgate said: “That's what we have to work out because, of course, if he's not ready for the first two games, there's the chance that I can do it.” break down later in the line.
“You also have to make sure you have enough cover in that situation, so there's a numbers game we'll be playing over the next few days.
“Okay, how many do we need at each position? We have to cover.”
“Clearly, he is a specialist left-back and an incredibly high-level player, so you are more likely to take a chance on a player who has been a regular starter and who we think can really add to the starting 11.
“But there is an impact, there is an impact on all of those decisions and that's why we have to look at the whole picture and not just at each individual.”
Southgate confirmed that Shaw, Harry Maguire, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka and John Stones will miss Monday's first warm-up match against Bosnia and Herzegovina at St James' Park, Newcastle, as England's preparations are hampered by a variety of physical problems.
Jude Bellingham will also be absent against Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Friday's friendly against Iceland at Wembley after the midfielder had a week's rest following Real Madrid's Champions League final victory over Borussia Dortmund.
“It's about psychological freshness,” Southgate said. “We could make him show up tomorrow, we could be annoying, we have to be with the group and integrate as quickly as possible.”
“But let's think about the individual. That's what we're always trying to do. Jude has played to the end, beyond where everyone else has played.
“The psychological freshness will be good for him. He's super professional, physically he's going to improve. For us we didn't need to see him before next Saturday.”
That decision means Bellingham will not play for England until their first Group C match against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on June 16, but Southgate added: “It's not the most important thing. The most important thing for Jude is the rest, the recovery.
“We will benefit from that. Those are the limitations of international football: we don't have players as often as in a club to be as cohesive, so you have to work out what the most important things are.”
“Right now, in my opinion, for Jude and therefore for the team, the most important thing is to recover and disconnect psychologically.”
