Gareth Southgate confirms England injury news nobody wanted to hear ahead of Euro 2024

Gareth Southgate revealed a piece of injury news that may have huge implications for England’s Euro 2024 ambitions.

Saturday evening’s tepid 1-0 loss to Brazil left Gareth Southgate with much food for thought with just three friendlies remaining ahead of England’s opening game at the European Championships in Germany.

The Three Lions, who were missing 12 first-team regulars, were up against a weak iteration of the five-time world champions, with the South Americans visiting Wembley with a new manager and on their worst run of results in 22 years.

Having been dealt a spate of injuries, Southgate gave debuts to the likes of Anthony Gordon, Kobbie Mainoo and Ezri Konsa, while Tuesday’s encounter against Belgium could see the England boss experiment further.

One player who struggled to make an impact against Brazil was Ben Chiwell. The Chelsea left-back was wasteful going forward, ballooning crosses and shots over the bar when in good areas, while Brazil also exploited his flank on several occasions on the counterattack.

It had many commenting that should the injured Luke Shaw struggle to be fit for the Euros, left-back could be a problem position for England.

Shaw is trying to recover from a muscle injury and hoping to return for Manchester United before the end of the season.

However, Southgate admitted that he will likely need to use someone else at left-back for at least part of the tournament.

Luke Shaw is unlikely to play every game of the summer's Euros (Getty)

He said: “He’s going to be right on the edge of the season. We know now, that to play seven matches in a Euros is highly unlikely.”

Southgate has used Kieran Trippier at left-back on several occasions while Fikayo Tomori and Rico Lewis played there in November, though the former is not in the current squad.

Joe Gomez could be another option, but Southgate accepted that Shaw is England’s first choice.

He added: “I thought Ben defended really well and it was an important game for him. I don’t want to kill Ben. But Luke’s one of the best left-backs in world football, frankly.”

Topics: England, Euro 2024, Gareth Southgate, Luke Shaw, Brazil

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.