Southgate expects one-week Shaw lay-off and swift Alli return

Luke Shaw is likely to only need a week off after suffering a concussion in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Spain and Dele Alli could feature for Tottenham at the weekend despite a muscle strain, according to England manager Gareth Southgate.

Shaw, who has enjoyed a fine start to the season with Manchester United, was forced off early in the second half at Wembley after taking an accidental blow to the head in a collision with Dani Carvajal.

The left-back needed significant medical attention on the pitch before eventually being carried off on a stretcher.

But Southgate expects him to be back soon and is confident that after the mandatory time off concussion sufferers must take, he will be straight back in training.

Shaw will still likely miss United’s Champions League opener at Young Boys on September 19 due to a lack of sharpness.

Speaking to reporters ahead of England’s friendly with Switzerland, Southgate said: “All being well, he [Shaw] has a mandatory six- or seven-day period [of not playing following the concussion].

“But he should be back in [training] as soon as that is done.”

Alli was withdrawn from England’s squad earlier on Monday as a result of a muscular injury he also suffered in the defeat to Spain.

The #ThreeLions manager says that @dele_official‘s injury is a minor one and he should be fit to play for @SpursOfficial this weekend.https://t.co/JKLhFeeuVn

— England (@England) September 10, 2018

Though Southgate does not think it is anything Tottenham fans need to worry about as he suggested Alli could even play against Liverpool on Saturday.

“He’s had a minor strain, but I think he should be fine for his club this weekend,” Southgate said.

“I thought Dele’s performance was good against Spain. He makes critical forward runs and he learned a lot from the game.”