Luke Shaw has been outstanding for Man Utd this season but the return from injury of Lisandro Martinez will give him more competition.
Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez
Luke Shaw hugs Lisandro Martinez as the Argentine makes his return from injury against Crystal Palace
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It was no surprise to see Luke Shaw offer a hug and a few words of encouragement to Lisandro Martinez when the Argentine replaced him at Crystal Palace on Sunday. If anyone in this Manchester United squad knows what it is like to go through an injury nightmare, it is Shaw.
Martinez was making his return to action after almost 10 months on the sidelines following an anterior cruciate ligament injury and replaced Shaw as United looked to see out a morale-boosting win at Selhurst Park. It was the fourth time in a couple of years that Martinez has suffered an injury that has kept him out for a prolonged period of time.
The Argentine will hope those days are now behind him and in Shaw, he has an example of how fortunes can change. The England international has seen his Old Trafford career regularly put on hold as a result of fitness problems, but at the age of 30 he is back to his best.
Shaw is as fit as he's been in his United career and has started all 13 Premier League games this season. After missing almost all of last season through injury issues, it was a renaissance nobody really saw coming.
That run in the team will almost certainly continue against West Ham on Thursday night, with Martinez unlikely to be considered fit enough to start just yet after so long out injured, but it's only a matter of time until the 27-year-old is back in the side. Despite his own injury issues, to many, he will be one of the first names on the teamsheet.
A back three of Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Martinez looks strong, with Shaw and Harry Maguire in reserve. The likelihood is that Martinez and Shaw will be competing for the same spot on the left of the back three, as the only left-footed central defenders.
With not many games to go round, one of them could end up being frustrated, although as we've seen, Ruben Amorim is happy to swap his centre-backs during games.
Another option is to use Shaw at wing-back. He was excellent there for England during the European Championship in 2021, although those fitness problems have seen his morph into a centre-back more recently.
In Amorim's system, a lot is demanded of the wing-backs and Shaw will be asked to cover more ground playing there than he would as a centre-back. It would be a more substantial test of whether he has truly overcome his injury problems.
Speaking in November, Amorim left the door open for Shaw to play there. It's something of a problem position for United, with neither Diogo Dalot nor Patrick Dorgu really convincing there. Amorim will also lose Noussair Mazraoui and Amad as wing-back options from mid-December when they travel to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
“Yes, he can play there. It is the load that the player does in that position is different. Of course, he can play there; he’s a smart player and fit at the moment," said Amorim.
With Martinez fit and the left-footed centre-back, Shaw could be tried at wing-back. That would allow Dalot to play on the right and would leave Dorgu and Tyrell Malacia in reserve.
It's an approach Amorim could consider over the next month or so. The way Shaw has been playing, he will want to keep him in his team, even if Martinez returns to his best.