Former Southampton manager Nigel Adkins has revealed to talkSPORT that Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw could “barely play 90 minutes” during his development at St Mary’s.
Another product of Saints' celebrated academy, Shaw left Saints for a huge £28million last summer but a string of injuries have limited his chances of making an impact at Old Trafford.
Persistent hamstring and ankle problems have seen the 19-year-old make just 20 appearances in his first season for the Red Devils, and on Wednesday he was left out of the England squad for the summer’s European Under-21 Championship after manager Louis van Gaal requested he rest instead.
And Adkins, a special guest host on Tuesday night’s Kick Off, admitted his former starlet has a history of injury troubles.
“We actually put a little group around Luke to support him, because physically he couldn’t play 90 minutes of football,” he told talkSPORT. “He barely even played 90 minutes for the Under-18s.
“I played him in the Premier League, but how could you only play him for half an hour?
"He was only 16 or 17, and he physically couldn’t do it.
“We needed to allow him to grow into his body, but he had this unbelievable burst of acceleration. And you could see he was a talented player.
“I think if you’re going to be a top player you’d probably have made your first team debut by the time you’re 17, but it’s all about how, as a manager and as a club, you nurture them through that period of time.”
Initially criticised by newly appointed boss Louis van Gaal for turning up to pre-season out of shape, Shaw was then hailed as an example to his team-mates after working his way back to fitness.
But a sudden hamstring problem prevented the full-back from making his Red Devils debut until September 27, and in November an ankle injury saw him ruled out for a month before more hamstring troubles saw him sidelined again for another five weeks.
Shaw’s most recent injury blow came in United’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on May 9, where the defender was stretchered off, which led to Van Gaal calling for the youngster to miss the summer’s European Under-21 Championship in order to rest ahead of next season.
Despite Shaw’s apparent wish to play, the Dutchman’s orders were obeyed, with Young Lions boss Gareth Southgate leaving Shaw out of his squad for the summer’s tournament.
Another product of Saints' celebrated academy, Shaw left Saints for a huge £28million last summer but a string of injuries have limited his chances of making an impact at Old Trafford.
Persistent hamstring and ankle problems have seen the 19-year-old make just 20 appearances in his first season for the Red Devils, and on Wednesday he was left out of the England squad for the summer’s European Under-21 Championship after manager Louis van Gaal requested he rest instead.
And Adkins, a special guest host on Tuesday night’s Kick Off, admitted his former starlet has a history of injury troubles.
“We actually put a little group around Luke to support him, because physically he couldn’t play 90 minutes of football,” he told talkSPORT. “He barely even played 90 minutes for the Under-18s.
“I played him in the Premier League, but how could you only play him for half an hour?
"He was only 16 or 17, and he physically couldn’t do it.
“We needed to allow him to grow into his body, but he had this unbelievable burst of acceleration. And you could see he was a talented player.
“I think if you’re going to be a top player you’d probably have made your first team debut by the time you’re 17, but it’s all about how, as a manager and as a club, you nurture them through that period of time.”
Initially criticised by newly appointed boss Louis van Gaal for turning up to pre-season out of shape, Shaw was then hailed as an example to his team-mates after working his way back to fitness.
But a sudden hamstring problem prevented the full-back from making his Red Devils debut until September 27, and in November an ankle injury saw him ruled out for a month before more hamstring troubles saw him sidelined again for another five weeks.
Shaw’s most recent injury blow came in United’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on May 9, where the defender was stretchered off, which led to Van Gaal calling for the youngster to miss the summer’s European Under-21 Championship in order to rest ahead of next season.
Despite Shaw’s apparent wish to play, the Dutchman’s orders were obeyed, with Young Lions boss Gareth Southgate leaving Shaw out of his squad for the summer’s tournament.
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