Thursday 1 October 2015 16:30, UK
Injured England defender Luke Shaw could have made the team of the tournament at Euro 2016, according to Roy Hodgson.
The Manchester United left-back has undergone two operations after suffering a double leg break in the Champions League defeat against PSV Eindhoven and England manager Hodgson appears resigned to prepare for the tournament without the 20-year-old.
"We were certainly punting on him being the left-back and arguably looking to be the best left-back in the tournament," he said of the former Southampton defender.
"It is a cruel blow, particularly for him. England will survive and he will too but at that stage in your career to suffer that type of injury when you have almost had a year of not playing is heartbreaking and we feel for him. He knows how much we care."
Shaw had made a strong start to the season for both club and country before he was taken out by a Hector Moreno slide tackle in the 15th minute of the group stage match in Eindhoven.
He received eight minutes of treatment before being stretchered off on oxygen, with confirmation he had a double leg break coming soon after.
Hodgson revealed he had attempted to speak to Shaw, who has been capped six times by the senior team, shortly after the match and praised the impact he has had on the England coaches since his first appearance in March 2014.
"These days you speak to players by text," Hodgson said. "It is not easy to get them on the phone, especially as I was trying to reach him on the phone very shortly after the injury when he was still in hospital.
"I think Luke knows how much we care about him and how much we think of him - he will realise from the work he has done with us what I and the other coaching staff have said, we really had high hopes for Luke in 2016."
We were certainly punting on him being the left-back and arguably looking to be the best left-back in the tournament.
With Shaw sidelined for at least six months and Leighton Baines out until late November, the door may be open for Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand or Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs to stake a claim for a starting place at the tournament in France.
It is likely that Hodgson will look at both players in the forthcoming qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania with England having already secured their place at the finals.
