Luke Shaw hobbled off with an injury for Manchester United vs Aston Villa, and so too did Harry Maguire.
That is half of United’s, and England’s, defense going down in the same game.
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The latest update is that both Shaw and Maguire missed United’s training session ahead of their clash against Villarreal on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that Maguire is out for a ‘few weeks’ with a calf problem. He added that Shaw could play against Villarreal, but the best case scenario is that he is on the bench.
With the international break coming up after this weekend, Maguire won’t be fit to play in England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers and that is a big blow for the Three Lions.
How bad did these injuries look?
Focusing on Luke Shaw, the England left back was subbed off in the first half at Old Trafford. Shaw suffered the injury early in the first half and tried to play on, but he couldn’t and 10 minutes before half time he was subbed off as Diogo Dalot replaced him.
Shaw, 26, has stayed relatively injury free for most of the last two seasons but the England international looked dejected as he hobbled off at Old Trafford.
It looked like Shaw suffered a hamstring or upper leg injury, as he pulled up initially after a Manchester United attack.
When it comes to Harry Maguire, he suffered the injury in a collision with Danny Ings in the box which Aston Villa wanted a penalty for in the second half.
Nothing was given, but United lost their captain and star center back who walked off gingerly and looked to be holding his calf. Maguire also tried to play on, but couldn’t get going again.
Solskjaer sets timeline
The Manchester United boss will sweating on the fitness of his star defensive duo, as Maguire is definitely out and Shaw is touch and go.
“Luke has been in today so I’ll give him a chance to be involved. He didn’t train with the team. Harry is, more or less, definitely out and it doesn’t look good. It’s Harry’s calf and it might take a few weeks. Let’s see how quickly he recovers,” Solskjaer said.
It seems likely that Shaw will not return for their midweek Champions League game and it would be unwise to try and rush him back as soon as possible.
With a few other players able to play at left back, perhaps it is best to rest Shaw and he and Maguire will both be fit after the international break.
How big of an issue is this for Manchester United, England?
These injuries are a bigger problem for United than they are for England.
The Red Devils have Alex Telles as a back-up for Shaw, but the Brazilian left back has struggled since he arrived from Porto. It is likely that Diogo Dalot, a right back, will be Shaw’s stand in.
As for Maguire, Victor Lindelof will come in for him and play alongside Raphael Varane, who has looked okay but not great since he arrived this summer and gets used to the Premier League.
Shaw will be hoping this isn’t a long-term issue as he’s been superb for club and country over the last 12 months in particular, and has finally got his injury-hit career back on track.
Maguire’s injury seems less serious but he’s so important both with his play and his leadership that this is a blow for United.
