Manchester United star Luke Shaw reveals he considered quitting football

Luke Shaw revealed that he was close to losing his right leg after it was severely broken three years ago, and further disclosed he considered quitting football. The left-back suffered a career-threatening injury in September 2015 whilst playing against PSV Eindhoven, which kept him on the side lines for over 14 months.

On returning to first team training, Shaw faced a lot of public criticism from Jose Mourinho, who claimed that the full back needed a ‘better understanding’ of the game. He was on the fringes of the squad, behind the likes of Ashley Young, Matteo Darmian and Marcos Rojo in the pecking order.

The 23-year-old is now a prominent member of the Mourinho’s squad, having played every single minute of the league season so far. He also won the ‘Manchester United Player of the Month’ award.

Speaking about his recovery, he said, 'I'd be lying if I said I didn't sometimes think about stopping playing football, but I had a lot of good friends and family around me and they helped me through it.”

'I nearly lost my leg, I was actually really close to losing my leg and I never knew that until six months after when the doctor told me. Of course, if I knew that I would [still] never have stopped, even if he had told me there was a worry, I would have tried [to carry on playing football],” he continued.

Shaw considers the desire to play in big games and win trophies as a motivation.

He hinted that he would have nearly lost his leg. 'At the time, they were thinking about flying me back (from Eindhoven) and if I'd have flown back, I would probably have lost my leg because of the blood clots and stuff in the leg.

'But I don't really care about that anymore. I feel really strong – and my right leg is exactly as it was before my leg break,' he added.

According to England coach Gareth Southgate, Shaw took a while to attain the dedication needed to become a professional football at the highest level. In reply, Shaw admitted, 'Yeah, you could say that is fair. In periods of time when things were going really good, that's when I might have taken my foot off the pedal and got comfortable.”

'Maybe at times I wasn't carrying on to the next level and that's where I've changed from a kid to a man and I have realised that. Now I'm back in the England squad, I have to keep going and take that criticism on board.”

Shaw has been recalled to the national squad, where he will displace World Cup hero and teammate Ashley Young at left-back. England play Switzerland on 12 September, whereas Manchester United travel to Vicarage Road to take on an in-form Watford side.