By James Cormack
2023/24 had once been regarded as a campaign of tumult at Old Trafford, but 2024 has so far been a year of prosperity for Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag's side have been productive without particularly impressing in the Premier League, with their recent string of victories thrusting them back into top-four contention.
Crucially, meanwhile, the INEOS takeover has been made official, marking a potentially exciting new dawn for the gargantuan sleeping giant of a club.
Having overseen a promising 2022/23 campaign which brought about the return of Champions League football to the Theatre of Dreams, Ten Hag will be keen to earn another shot in Europe's premier club competition next season following their group stage exit in 2023.
The Dutchman has so far mitigated defensive injuries to facilitate an improvement, but he'll have to overcome another major injury setback following therecent reports surrounding Luke Shaw.
When could Luke Shaw return from injury?
Shaw has been plagued by injuries throughout his Man Utd career, although an injury-free spell saw the Englishman emerge as one of Europe's premier left-backs in 2021. He's long been a crucial cog for the Red Devils, but Shaw has already missed a big chunk of the current campaign.
A muscle injury saw the defender out for 16 games between August and November. Now, Shaw could be out of action for a similarly long period having suffered another setback in United's 2-1 victory overLuton Town. His new injury is believed to be hamstring-related.
"He had setbacks during his rehab process. It takes too long, it's bad for him. Bad for us," Ten Hag said ahead of the trip to Kenilworth Road after the left-back was withdrawn at half-time against Aston Villa.
"But now we've turned a point and it's positive - he will return soon on the pitch. I don't think then it will take long before he's returning in the team training."
Shaw's latest problem could sideline him for months and there's a chance he won't feature for the Red Devils again this season with the campaign concluding in May.
Who will replace Luke Shaw in Man Utd team?
With Tyrell Malacia missing all of the season so far and Sergio Reguiion no longer at the club after his loan ended in January, United don't have a natural replacement for Shaw.
Ten Hag will hope that Malacia can play some part in the run-in once he recovers from a long-term knee injury. Before that, though, the boss will likely turn to in-form Diogo Dalot to play on his weaker side. The full-back has been one of United's best performers in 2024 and has shown already that he's pretty comfortable performing the left-back role.
Lisandro Martinez could've been considered if he wasn't injured himself, while Victor Lindelof is another possibility if Ten Hag doesn't want to shift Dalot from right-back.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Luke Shaw injury: Progress & potential return for Man Utd defender.
