‘When the manager is ready, I’m ready’ Luke Shaw makes injury comeback for Manchester United U23s as he eyes return to Jose Mourinho’s first-team squad
The young defender reveals how the honest talks with boss Jose Mourinho have aided his road to recovery and fight to get back onto the first team
LUKE SHAW made the first steps in his bid to return to Jose Mourinho's squad after suffering an injury in April.
He played almost 60 minutes in the Under-23's 1-1 draw against Swansea on Monday and came through the other side with more confidence and eagerness to fight for his spot on the first team.
He was joined in his comeback game by Ashley Young who suffered a hamstring injury that required surgery four days after Shaw damaged ligaments in his foot, report the .
It was a positive step in both players recovery that came ahead of schedule.
Mourinho initially forecast Shaw would return in September and Young the following month though his over-estimation may have been to strengthen the need to bring in reinforcements this summer.
The young England international said he was feeling good with his starting place and ready to move forward.
"[It felt] very good. I think me and Ash, we both really needed that. I felt like I could have gone on longer but 60 minutes was the aim at the start," he said.
Young was also pleased to be out on the pitch again, "Felt great to be back, been a long few months!!"
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There was no rest for the injured duo who were back in training this morning with United's first team.
But Shaw understands it won't be easy to force his way back into a squad that is firing so well together and coming off back-to-back 4-0 league wins.
The full-back will be competing for first team minutes with Daley Blind and Matteo Darmian in defence but said he knows exactly what is expected of him and what Mourinho's plan is after honest discussions with his boss.
"We’ve had discussions but the main ones we’ve had so far are about how my injury is, how I'm feeling. I told him straight how I was feeling and that’s good," he said
Shaw added: "He tells us all straight what he wants and how it’s going to plan out for the games we have.
There was a scary moment that saw Shaw sprawled on the turf after a heavy challenge but he brushed it off and put it all down as experience.
"One of the lads on the pitch said ‘that mustn’t have been good for you’ but I said ‘no, listen, I need to go through this’ because after you’ve been out for a while, you need those tackles earlier on than later because sometimes you think about it," explained Shaw.
Mourinho wasn't in attendance to see his players' return opting to instead watch Man City take on Everton at the Etihad, but is sure to be pleased that both managed 58 minutes after an aim of playing 45-60.
