Luke Shaw has revealed his grandmother sadly passed away shortly before England's opening match at the World Cup in Qatar.
The Manchester United defender has been a key player for the Three Lions, starting all three opening group stage matches.
England star Shaw has revealed he has been grieving the death of his grandmother in Qatar
He even provided the assist for Jude Bellingham in what was England's first goal of the global tournament in the 6-2 win over Iran.
But the 27-year-old has revealed he has been grieving the loss of his grandmother, and is using her memory as motivation to succeed.
Shaw even stated that boss Gareth Southgate offered him the opportunity to take time away, but he chose to stay with his England teammates.
Speaking after the 3-0 victory against Wales, Shaw told The Athletic: "My nan sadly passed away before [the tournament].
"She had cancer for a long while and unfortunately she passed away just before the first game.
"But of course Gareth was really good with me, spoke to me and said: 'Is everything ok?
Shaw has stated how Southgate offered him the chance to take a break away from training
"If I need to have time away just focus on that.
"But I'm here, this World Cup means so much to me and I didn't want to miss anything."
Asked whether he is using her memory as a source of motivation, the ex-Southampton full-back remarked: "She was a really important part of my childhood.
"I spent a lot of time with her.
Manchester United defender Shaw has started all three of England's World Cup group games
"Unfortunately she had cancer for a long while and suffered a lot, so it had been a long thing.
"But I've had time to grieve and fully focus on the World Cup."
Shaw's compatriot and United teammate Marcus Rashford banged in a brace in the win against Wales on Tuesday but has also had a personal tragedy.
After firing in a fantastic free-kick, he dropped to his knees and pointed to his sky, with the forward revealing after the match it was a tribute to his late friend.
Rashford stated: "I lost one of my friends a couple of days ago.
"He had quite a long battle with cancer. I'm pleased I scored for him, he's always been a big supporter of mine.
"He was just a great person and I'm pleased he came into my life, really."
No comments:
Post a Comment