LUKE SHAW is out of England’s clash with Denmark on Thursday.
Gareth Southgate has confirmed that the Manchester United‘s left-back will miss the Three Lions’ second group game as he continues to nurse an injury.
Speaking ahead of the Group C face off with the Danes, Southgate said: “Luke won’t be involved tomorrow, no.
“He’s actually on track for where we thought he would be originally.
“We were hoping a couple of days ago we might accelerate that a little bit, but he needs a bit more volume work.”
He went on to explain that the Euro 2020 final goalscorer is still training alone to manage his workload.
Adding: “He didn’t train with the rest of the group today because there are days where he needs to do more than the rest of the group and there are days when he needs to recover when the others are pushing.
“So he’s still in and out with the others, but operating on his own programme as well.”
Shaw is still struggling with a muscular issue he picked up with Man Utd back in February.
The defender was sidelined for England’s 1-0 win over Serbia on Sunday with Kieran Tripper deployed on the left side instead.
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Shaw is the only out-and-out left-back in Southgate’s 26-man squad for the tournament.
The England boss has still given no schedule for when fans can expect to see Shaw back on the pitch.
But Shaw’s club manager, Erik ten Hag, used his knowledge of the injury to predict it wouldn’t be until after the group stages.
Speaking on Dutch TV channel NOS on Sunday night, he said: “Luke Shaw will start playing once England get out of the group stages.”
Southgate has favoured playing natural right-back Trippier on the left side in Shaw’s absence during his tenure, and it would be safe to assume that will be his plan on Thursday.
The England boss defended his decision to bring Shaw to Germany despite his injury woes.
CLIQUES that were commonplace in the England camp in tournaments gone by have been well and truly consigned to history.
Declan Rice and Ivan Toney? They have never played together at club level and only a handful of times for England, but are thick as thieves.
Lewis Dunk and Dean Henderson? They play for arch-rivals Brighton and Crystal Palace, but that has not stopped an unlikely alliance from forming.
Phil Foden and Cole Palmer have relished spending time together again, having done so for years for Manchester City before Palmer was sold to Chelsea for £45million last summer.
NFL nuts Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon were chucking an American football to each other ahead of a light training session on Monday.
John Stones and Kieran Trippier gatecrashed Jordan Pickford’s presser to see how their good mate fared, finding it hilarious as he slumped to defeat against talkSPORT.
Conor Gallagher and Marc Guehi also have a long-standing friendship and have been besties since they were little playing in the Chelsea academy.
Jude Bellingham and Liverpool man Trent Alexander-Arnold have also become close – evident in the Werewolf celebration they performed against Serbia.
He said: “Luke is obviously an outstanding player. That’s why we’ve taken the decision to bring him although he’s not played for so long.
“I don’t want to put a timeline on it right at this moment.
“He’s progressing well. The balance he gives, the drive he gives, whoever plays with him down that side of the pitch he gives a different outlet.
“We’re adapting to not having him and having to find a different way”.
England can book their place in the last-16 with a win over Denmark in Frankfurt.
GARETH SOUTHGATE has plenty to think about ahead of Thursday’s second Group C game against Denmark.
SunSport’s CHARLIE WYETT looks at the major issues facing the England boss…
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD
Southgate believes the Liverpool right-back could ultimately be an outstanding partner for Declan Rice in midfield. Alexander-Arnold did OK in the 1-0 win over Serbia but he is a work in progress in this position — to put it mildly. Asked about his display, Southgate said: “It seemed he was great when we were in control but struggled a bit when we lost control.” Conor Gallagher was introduced and he made England more solid. If Alexander-Arnold is dropped for Denmark, the entire experiment is over.
PHIL FODEN
The Manchester City star is becoming an enigma, which is such a shame. Particularly as he has come off an absolutely terrific season for City. Foden has now played 35 times for England and you can count the good games on one hand. Southgate will surely stick with Foden for the Denmark match rather than unleash Anthony Gordon or Eberechi Eze. If Foden struggles on Thursday, Southgate has to make the call and replace him after an hour.
KIERAN TRIPPIER
The Newcastle defender did well against Serbia even though he is not fully fit, having only just returned from a long lay-off. Add the fact he is right-footed and neither is he a perfect fit on the left. Southgate aims to start Luke Shaw when he is 100 per cent but this is unlikely to be against Denmark.
HARRY KANE
The England captain nearly scored his 64th international goal when he hit the bar — but it was still a struggle. He only touched the ball twice in the first half. Kane is certainly not dropping as deeply as he has in the past so the service has to be better. Equally, he does not look totally match sharp. He missed the end of the season with Bayern Munich with a back injury although he returned as a sub for England against Bosnia and Herzegovina. The slight concern over Kane was one reason a third striker, Ivan Toney, was added to the squad, with both James Maddison and Jack Grealish missing out.
