Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has been included in Gareth Southgate’s 23-man England squad for September’s fixtures against Spain and Switzerland.
Shaw, 23, last played for England in March 2017, as a second-half substitute in a 1-0 friendly defeat by Germany.
Liverpool pair Joe Gomez and Adam Lallana, and Burnley’s James Tarkowski are also included in Southgate’s first post-World Cup squad.
“Luke has always been a player we have liked,” said Southgate. His call back to the team has impressed the Red Devils coach Jose Mourinho and he has praised him.
Jose on @LukeShaw23: “We are very, very happy with him and I think to go to the national team after three Premier League matches, for him, is an extraordinary feeling.” #MUFC pic.twitter.com/nFKKSoM32P
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 31, 2018
A month ago, Luke Shaw was nursing another injury in Miami perilously close to the start of the new season. Shaw sat next to Chris Smalling behind the United dugout in Ann Arbor as Demetri Mitchell had the unenviable task of facing Mohamed Salah.
Jose Mourinho’s revelation that Eric Bailly had volunteered to play while injured was ominous; Bailly hobbled through the mixed zone with his ankle iced and Shaw and Smalling were the duo Mourinho rounded on at Swansea two seasons ago for not playing through the pain barrier. Mourinho had already aired a public pledge for first-choice left-back Ashley Young to end his holiday early.
The fatigued Young, understandably, opted against curtailing his post-World Cup break and Shaw regained fitness in time to start against Real Madrid three days after Liverpool tallied a big win in The Big House. Shaw had staved off regression and held off the challenge of Young, who was available for Leicester’s Friday night visit on August 9.
In a fractious August United will want to forget Shaw has enjoyed a mini resurgence. He was given the run-around by Anthony Knockaert in the debacle at Brighton, where he was United’s most respectable performer, and that aberration was sandwiched between displays worthy of the United man of the match accolade. Shaw motored past media darling Kieran Trippier and Gareth Southgate has rightly recalled him to the England squad at the expense of Danny Rose, once identified as Shaw’s potential replacement at United.