Bertrand sympathises with Shaw injury but aims to keep hold of England spot for Euro 2016

Luke Shaw's comeback to the England squad could be tougher than he thought

LUKE SHAW last night got a sharp reminder that his comeback could be even tougher than he thought.

 

As he recovers from a double broken leg the player who has stepped into his England boots warned that sympathy won't get him his place back in Roy Hodgson's side.

Ryan Bertrand, England's left back against Estonia on Friday and almost certainly in Lithuania tomorrow, has all the sympathy in the world for young Shaw.

But, he warned, it's now every man for himself as far as that England spot is concerned.

 

Shaw suffered a double leg break in Manchester United's 2-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven

And if that wasn't tough enough Shaw received another reminder, from Spurs Andros Townsend, that the prospect of missing next year's Euro championships will be even harder to take.

Bertrand, now flying again with Southampton after a knee operation in the summer, didn't mince his words about what's at stake when you are England's left back.

He admitted he would need to stay ruthless to keep his place in the national side - and keep Shaw out.

He said: “Precisely. There are a few of us in there: myself, Luke, Leighton Baines, Keiron Gibbs, even Danny Rose and Aaron Cresswell at West Ham. There are a lot of us vying for that place.

"So it is now about consistency and when we get the chance, we take it. England have produced six or seven top left backs and whoever is chosen should grab the place.

 

"Luke has the full support of everyone. I wish him very well and hopefully he comes back stronger.

“I haven't spoken to him personally, but it's never nice to see this happen, especially to an international teammate and a fellow left-back.

"It puts football into perspective. These things happen. But Luke is a strong character and I am sure he will bounce back.”

In the meantime Townsend, no stranger to injury heartache himself after missing last year's World Cup finals, also had words of sympathy - and warning - for the stricken Shaw.

He said: "I  feel for Luke. He was having a fantastic season and was one of the best English players in the Premier League.

 

Ryan Bertrand has full sympathy but insists it is every man for himself for the left-back position

"It's going to be difficult for him, I won't lie. But he has time on his side. He's only 20 so there will be plenty of other tournaments for him and he should take that positive from a negative situation."

Townsend did, however, hint that Shaw might be wise to resist going to France next summer as a pundit, rather than as a player.

He revealed that he had found it harder than he thought being in Brazil for TV last year instead of with the players he helped get there.

"I thought it would be alright, but once the tournament was going on it was incredibly difficult to handle. Being there as a pundit made it worse, being that close but not being involved," he added.

“But it did give me the drive to push on. And that has given me the desire to make sure I am involved when the next tournament comes around.”