Man Utd star starts first Premier League game in 434 days

Luke Shaw's inclusion in the XI to face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday afternoon represents his first start for Manchester United across any competition since February 2024.

The injury-ravaged defender was fit enough to feature in England's Euro 2024 campaign, easing his way into the team before starting the final against Spain in Berlin. However, it took the best part of four months until he made his first appearance of the campaign for United.

Coming on for the final half-hour of a Europa League victory against Bodo/Glimt, Shaw had been on the sidelines for Erik ten Hag's dismissal and the entirety of Ruud van Nistelrooy's interim tenure.

Capable of slotting into the left side of a back-three or lining up as a wing-back, Shaw is one of the few players in the current squad who fits Ruben Amorim's preferred formation. However, the Portuguese boss has been limited to fleeting sights of the 29-year-old.

After nursing a knee injury only to be struck down by a calf problem, Shaw made three substitute appearances as November bled into December before picking up another muscular issue.

The former Southampton defender suffered a further injury setback in February, but has been available since April. Shaw was called upon for the final 74 minutes of Manchester United's epic Europa League comeback against Lyon, filing into a backline which conceded four times yet still somehow conspired to prevail.

Shaw was then left out of the squad for last weekend's defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers, but Amorim quickly downplayed concerns over his fitness.

"In my mind, he was playing 30 minutes [against Lyon]," Amorim told MUTV. "But, because of the problems we had at half time with Victor [Lindelof] and Nous [Mazraoui] and then extra time, he did a very good job but a lot of minutes. He has to feel that load to rest now and then he will train for the next game."

The next game has come and - for the first time in 434 days - Shaw is in the starting XI.

Man Utd starting XI vs Bournemouth

(3-4-2-1): Andre Onana; Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Noussair Mazraoui, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Patrick Dorgu; Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho; Rasmus Hojlund

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