Luke Shaw’s comeback from the gruesome broken leg that cost him the majority of his 2015-16 season has hit a small bump in the road, which is mostly to be expected.
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After returning to first-team training in the preseason and starting the first three games of Manchester United’s Premier League season, Shaw was picked for Sam Allardyce’s debut England team ahead of the Three Lions’ 2018 World Cup qualifying opener on Sunday, against Slovakia.
Shaw was intended to start the game on the bench, with Danny Rose firmly entrenched as the starter following a standout season for Tottenham Hotspur and proving one of the few bright spots during England’s disastrous EURO 2016 campaign. That won’t be the case, though, as the 21-year-old has been allowed to leave the national team and return to his club.
Per a statement from the English FA on Saturday, Shaw was “rested from training … this morning with the medical team continuing to manage his workload.”
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With any luck, it’s nothing more than Shaw being eased back into action by slowly increasing his workload with an eye toward being available for the entire season and beyond. Of course, anytime a player suffers a major leg injury, a series of less serious injuries — typically muscular in nature — tend to follow as the different muscle and ligament groups are once again exposed to the demanding use of a professional footballer after such a long layoff.
Following the conclusion of the international break, Man United return to PL action with the first Manchester derby of the season, taking on Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday (Watch live, 7:30.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBC Sports).