Gareth Southgate gives update on whether injury-stricken Luke Shaw will feature in England’s opening Euro 2024 game against Serbia

Gareth Southgate has ‘made a call’ over whether Luke Shaw will feature during England’s opening Euro 2024 game against Serbia on Sunday night. 

The defender, who has not played since February after having sustained a hamstring injury, made his return to training earlier this week in what will be a big boost for Southgate. 

The England manager had previously admitted that it was a ‘gamble’ to include Shaw in his squad, but revealed today that he has made a decision on whether the former Southampton defender will be available to play for England on Sunday in Gelsenkirchen. 

‘We have a decision on whether Luke is a possible to use from the bench, but everyone has trained today and is available’ Southgate said during his pre-match press conference. 

He also delivered an update on the fitness of the rest of his squad, stating: ‘Everyone is available.’ 

That will no doubt come as good news after concerns have arisen over the availability of defender John Stones, who returned to first-team training on Thursday following an illness. 

Delivering his view on how England will set up to play against Serbia on Sunday, Southgate urged caution over the number of options their upcoming opponents have, and the different tactical options they can deploy. 

‘Dragan [Stojkovic] has different options, we know they can play in different systems and the strikers they have can cause problems to any team,’ Southgate added. ‘They have a settled way of playing.

‘We have to be able to deal with their strengths and try to exploit the weaknesses because every team in the tournament has weaknesses so that’s the role of our work during the week.’

More to follow…