Luke Shaw says mistakes were made over his fitness levels last season and questioned the approach taken by the Manchester United medical staff and manager Erik ten Hag.
Shaw was included in the England squad for Euro 2024 but is facing a race against time to be fit for the opening game against Serbia next Sunday due to a hamstring injury sustained in February.
The 28-year-old says he was asked to play at Luton Town a week after coming off at half-time against Aston Villa but broke down again and has not featured since.
He said: “It’s kind of everyone’s fault. Partly my fault, partly medical staff, I think everyone would admit that.
“I didn’t train the whole week. The scan came back and there wasn’t too much there. But I didn’t train all week, then trained the day before the game. If the manager asks me to play, I’m never going to say no. I shouldn’t have played.”
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United frustrations
Shaw managed just 12 starts in the Premier League last season but still heads to the Euros as England’s only specialist left-back.
He added: “We all want to play football. My season has been so frustrating, injury after injury. Maybe at times, especially my first hamstring, it could have been avoidable.
“That wasn’t the case, things happen, and I’ve just got to move on from that. The biggest thing for me now is putting my full focus on getting back fit and helping England win the Euros.
“I would love to make the first game, I can’t lie. But I don’t want to be in one of them situations and rush too quickly because, realistically, I’ve only got one chance. If I feel something, then that’s it, and I don’t want that to happen.”
How can he be fit for England?
Shaw missed the FA Cup final win over Manchester City but was still selected by Gareth Southgate for the tournament in Germany with some United fans questioning his commitment to his club – a point the former Southampton full-back was keen to address.
He said: “I think people have been getting confused with what’s actually happened, because nothing had ever been said. I got a few people coming up to me, saying, “How can you not be fit for United but fit for England?”.
“But the circumstances were that I did push to do everything I can to be fit for United, and that’s been my whole season, really. In my opinion, I was pushing to try and get back for the games and the final, and I think I pushed too hard.
“I came back too quickly and I actually ended up getting another injury in my hamstring, which was three weeks from the final and they said it was a six-week injury, so that’s obviously why there was that setback.
“I had done a little bit of team training. When you build back up, you tend to go in a little bit of team training just to get a feel of it and then you go with the conditioning coach to do different things and try and build up your fitness. It was actually when I was over there that I felt something in my hamstring. I had a scan and it was a six-week injury. I was devastated.
“It’s better for me to come out and say what happened, because I think there was a lot of questions over how I could be here and not United. That’s been playing on my mind a little bit, because I don’t want people thinking that’s what I’m doing.”
How to watch England in the Euros
Read our piece here on how to take in every England game and see which matches are on BBC or ITV.
