New Delhi: England have a golden generation of full-backs on their hands and they seem to be producing quality ones for years now. Since the dark days of having just Glenn Johnson and Micah Richards man the flanks for the national team, the Three Lions have multiple gifted fullbacks in their ranks, capable of playing on either flanks. They have so much depth in those positions that many of these talented individuals haven’t been able to break into the team properly.
England currently boast the likes of Trent Alexander Arnold, Kyle Walker, Aaron Wan Bissaka, and Ben White who can play as right backs and have the likes of Tyrick Mitchell, Ben Chilwell, Leif Davis and Lewis Hall who are can play on the left. Add to that players like Tino Livramento, Rico Lewis, and the recently retired Kieran Trippier, who are equally adept at playing on either of the flanks.
However, there are two glaring misses in these names and those are the individuals who could’ve become the very best in their respective positions had things gone differently. Those individuals are none other than Luke Shaw and Reece James. Both fullbacks are in different phases of their careers, with Reece about to hit his prime years and Luke about to leave them, but there’s one thing that ties them together, injuries.
Most expensive teenager and Cobham’s Crown Jewel
On this day in 2014, Luke Shaw became the most expensive teenage footballer in history.https://t.co/ZgSg0CwWxl #MUFC pic.twitter.com/LHEGA3HKme
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 27, 2017
Roll back the clock 10 years when Luke Shaw was making the waves as a 19-year-old Southampton academy product who burst on to the scene. He was the talk of the town, having been nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year that season and making the PFA Team of the Season in the 2013/14 season. His phenomenal form during that season led to Manchester United spending a then-whopping figure (for a youngster) of £30 million.
United made him the world’s most expensive teenager at the time and it seemed like a no brainer. They had stolen a march on Premier League rivals Chelsea, who were looking for a successor to Ashley Cole, and had been tracking Shaw for a while. Manchester United paid the big bucks to secure the signing of a highly rated and Premier League proven left-back and it looked like an incredible piece of business which, at the time, it was.
Proud moment to win ‘Academy Player Of The Year’ yesterday! Thanks for all the support!! @chelseafc 💙🙌🏽🔥 pic.twitter.com/UkUK7btBQm
— Reece James (@ReeceJames) May 11, 2018
Five years on from Luke Shaw’s move to Old Trafford, Chelsea found their own home-grown English fullback and didn’t have to pay a single penny for him. Reece James, signed for the Chelsea academy when he was just six years old, rose up the academy ranks, captaining the U18s and winning the Academy Player of the Season, just a year after going professional. He would then be loaned out to Wigan Athletic and won three awards at their end of season awards, including Player of the Year, in addition to making the Championship Team of the Season.
At end of his spell with Wigan, he came back to a Chelsea side that was finally giving it’s youth players chances under then-manager and club legend, Frank Lampard. Chelsea’s highest ever goalscorer handed the debut to the best product to come out of the academy since the days of a certain number 26 wearing center-back. James was a part of Chelsea’s Cobham revolution and he was the torchbearer for it, being the one with the most potential of them all.
Injuries devoid fans of Generational Talent
🚨🔴THROWBACK: Manchester United’s Luke Shaw says he “nearly lost his leg” after breaking it in two places in September 2015.
The full-back, 28, missed the rest of the season [42 games] after suffering the injury in a Champions League 2-1 defeat by PSV Eindhoven.
“I’d be lying… pic.twitter.com/6wwFmPbTh1
— Manchester United Forever (@Utd_Forever7) February 22, 2024
The trajectory of both Luke Shaw and Reece James’ careers have been eerily similar with both having burst onto the scene as generational talents. Both Shaw and James were attacking fullbacks who would dazzle the crowd with their pace and attacking intent, causing opposition players trouble and offering an attacking output from defense while both being equally adept at defending.
Shaw was always seen as a revolutionary fullback a time when attacking fullbacks weren’t as easily available and the Manchester United man was at the top of that list. He would then suffer a horrible double fracture in a UEFA Champions League game against PSV and that was the beginning of his injury problems. An extremely unfortunate incident for anyone to suffer, let alone for a 20-year-old budding fullback making a name at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
That injury put him on the shelf for six brutally long months and it killed all the pace that he had. His pace was one of his USPs and in a position where you can’t afford to be slow, it’s a necessity, and that was taken away from him due to this injury. It ended his season in September and he didn’t return till the next season’s FA Community Shield game. He returned well from this brutal injury and established himself once again in the team, playing 71% of the club’s games between the 2018/19 and 2022/23 seasons but problems arose once again.
🚨 Reece James has suffered another setback. He tweaked his hamstring in training yesterday. #cfc
[@C345Sam] pic.twitter.com/lZ5J5srLs5
— Williams ©️ (@CFCNewsReport) May 25, 2023
Like the United defender, Reece James was also seen as one of the best attacking fullbacks in the world who would dominate oppositions with his pace and pinpoint crossing. His career at the club started well and he was a huge part of both Lampard and Thomas Tuchel’s first team, with both managers praising the youngster. Reece would establish himself as one of the first names on the sheet under both, becoming an important member of the team.
He was a huge part of the club’s 2020/21 UEFA Champions League win and was arguably the best player on the pitch during the final, effectively marking Raheem Sterling out of the game, while playing in an unfamiliar position. However, post that is when the fitness issues really started to creep in and thing started to go a bit down the hill. His hamstring and knee issues started becoming more recurrent and intense, which ultimately ended in surgery. A knee injury saw him miss out on England’s 2022 FIFA World Cup squad while the hamstring issues led to him missing out on the UEFA Euro 2024 squad.
Almost Six and half years of Football missed due to Injury
Another injury setback for Luke Shaw 🤕
He has lost a total of four and a half years to multiple injuries 🤯#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/XT7NdWGupu
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) December 5, 2024
Nothing sums up their unfortunate injury history than the fact that between the two of them, they have missed a combined six and half years of action due to various injuries. Before Luke Shaw’s latest injury setback that he just announced this week, the defender had missed a whopping 1,675 days of action, which amounts to almost four and half years of football that he could’ve played and dominated.
Similarly, in case of Reece James, since he made his first team debut for his club, the 24-year-old has missed 680 days of football. James’ days missed amounts to almost two years spent out on the nursing table. His injury concerns have only grown off late and ever since he’s become captain of the club, following the departure of Cesar Azpilicueta, he has barely taken to the field, missing 56 games in that while and making only 15 appearances.
The injury history of both these players is painfully brutal to look back upon as both have had an insane amount of injuries. Since the 2012/13 season, the first season of Luke Shaw’s professional career, both players combined have had a whopping 48 different instances where they have had to spend time out due to injuries. Shaw has had 28 different instances while James has had 20 instances since he made his debut for the Blues.
😔 Reece James is injured again! This is already his tenth injury in the last three seasons
In total, he has missed 680 days and 129 matches for Chelsea throughout his career. Such bad luck for this guy 😢
🔥 @Champfootball #CFC #ChelseaFc pic.twitter.com/066HGKn6zw
— CHELSEA The pride of London (@MansportTV) November 21, 2024
The similarity doesn’t end there as both of them had recently returned to training for their respective clubs after seemingly putting their injury woes behind them. Reece was coming back after a successful surgery on his hamstring that had been giving him problems while Shaw returned after a nine-month absence after recovering from a calf injury that he suffered during preseason.
Both of them would go on to make appearances for their clubs this season as well with Shaw appearing for United in three different games, playing at least half an hour in all three appearances. Meanwhile, James would feature in four games for Chelsea this season, playing the full 90 minutes against Manchester United and Newcastle. However, the injury issues resurfaced once again and now both of them face another spell on the sidelines, waiting for the uncertainty over their futures to end. Their journeys inspire hope for what still could be, but echo the sadness of what might have been.
Chelsea captain Reece James and Manchester United fullback Luke Shaw are prime examples of how injuries can derail the careers of even World Class talents who were always touted for success. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
