Southgate says Shaw has 'a good chance' of playing for England at Euro 2024

Luke Shaw of Manchester United has "a good chance" of joining the English national team to play at the coming UEFA European Championship in Germany, manager Gareth Southgate told reporters on Sunday.

"He's progressing very well, I have to say," 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 that we didn't have."

"We're pleased with how he's progressing. There's still a bit to do before he can get on the pitch in a game situation. But really pleased with the work he's doing with our physical performance team and our medics, so, yeah, he's in with a good chance," the national team boss added.

Shaw hasn't played for either England nor United since he suffered a muscular injury in the Premier League game against Luton Town on February 18. He has scored four goals and delivered 28 assists for United in 275 appearances since he joined the club from Southampton in July 2014. He has played 31 games for England with three goals and nine assists.

Shaw was in Southgate's 33-player initial squad for Euro 2024, but the manager has until Friday to cut it to a maximum of 26 players.

"That's the thing we have to work out because, of course, if he's not ready for the first couple of games there's a chance he could break down further down the line," Southgate said when asked if it's worth gambling on Shaw's inclusion in the national team. "You've got to make sure you've got enough cover in that situation as well, so there is a bit of a numbers game for us to play over the next few days."

England are in Group C with Slovenia, Denmark and Serbia at Euro 2024. The team's best performance at the tournament was finishing as the runners-up in 2021.