Luke Shaw’s injury curse struck again on Saturday as the Manchester United left back’s England recall was cut short by a sickening clash of heads early in the second half against Spain.
Shaw created England’s goal in their 2-1 defeat but was injured in an accidental clash with Dani Carvajal early in the second half — leading to a seven-minute stoppage as he was treated by several medics.
Thankfully the prognosis was upbeat later as England’s medical team confirmed that it was not as serious as the 81,000 fans inside Wembley Stadium had at first feared.
“Luke is awake and alert, having been assessed by our doctor and given an X-ray,” a Football Association statement said.
“He’ll stay with us overnight for further observation, with another update to come in the morning.”
Manager Gareth Southgate, who gave Shaw his first start for three years, confirmed the 23-year-old was ‘up and talking’.
Shaw’s United career has been overshadowed by injury.
He broke his leg in two places during a Champions League match in 2015 and admitted this week he nearly lost his leg.
Shaw missed nearly all of the 2015-16 season and suffered a groin injury the following season that limited his appearances.
After struggling last season to convince Jose Mourinho he was worth a place in the team, he has started the current campaign in impressive fashion and his contribution on Saturday before his injury will have impressed Southgate.
“He gave a great ball for the goal. Marcus Rashford had a great impact on the game. Joe Gomez’s defending was excellent. There are individual positives and as a collective they gave everything,” Southgate said of the trio who were given their chance to make their mark.
