Luke Shaw's withdrawal from the England U21 squad might be a blow to the country but can only help Saints cause in the Premier League.
Luke Shaw has pulled out of the forthcoming England U21 games due to an injury picked up during the Liverpool game at the weekend, however this could be of benefit to Saints as Shaw now has a full fortnight of rest and recuperation to ensure that he is fully fit for the visit of Chelsea a week on Saturday.
The problem is here that many forget just how young haw actually is, although he will obviously have the fitness that comes naturally with youth, its generally accepted that it takes at least 3-4 years of full time training at professional level before a player will have attained that core fitness needed to not only play week in week out but be able to train at a high intensity without picking up too many injuries.
This core fitness is crucial in a sport where stamina and the ability to perform at a high tempo for 90 minutes is paramount, its the reason that you dont see many teenage marathon runners at a high level, in that discipline core strength is a must and a top quality marathon runner will often be approaching 30 before he truly gets into his prime, in the reverse its why teenage footballers have to be nurtured, in an ideal world Luke Shaw would not play every game, but be rested therefore giving him the recovery time that he needs at this age, to play him week in week out is a recipe for injury problems and what is sometimes picked up now can often dog a player for years to come making the suceptible to hamstring injuries for instance.
So Luke Shaw missing out for England this time is a boost to Saints survival chances over the coming weeks, the extend of Shaw's injury hasnt been revealed, but I dont expect it to be too serious, but Saints arent taking any chances here in risking Shaw in what are only two friendlies as a warm up for the summers U21 tournament, Luke Shaw will get another chance for the England U21's and probably the full England side, but for the moment Saints need to concentrate on this season and ensuring they stay up.