Luke Shaw suffered a suspected broken leg in Manchester United’s Champions League match at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
With the score at 0-0, the United left-back was the subject of a sliding tackle by Hector Moreno in the 15th minute of the group stage match in Holland. Replays showed Moreno had swept both of Shaw’s feet from underneath him and his right foot lay at an angle, which indicated a break.
He stayed down for eight minutes of treatment before being carried off on a stretcher while receiving oxygen. Louis van Gaal looked upset at seeing the 20-year-old being taken away.
The United manager went over to the defender and gave him a pat on the shoulder as he was carried down the tunnel. He was then taken to hospital in Eindhoven. Both sets of fans applauded as Shaw left the field.
Moreno was not penalised for the tackle, which happened in the PSV penalty area. If Shaw has broken his leg he is almost sure to miss the European Championship, which is not good news for Roy Hodgson.
The England manager already has major injury concerns. Jack Wilshere, Jordan Henderson, Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturridge, Fraser Forster and Ben Foster all missed the last international double-header with long-term injuries.
Marcos Rojo, who replaced Shaw at the Philips Stadion, is likely to be a long-term replacement for Shaw this season.
Shaw’s team-mate Adnan Januzaj, currently on loan at Borussia Dortmund, wrote on Twitter: “Horrible to see what happened ... I wish u all the best my brother and stay strong you will comeback even stronger”.
Shaw himself took to Twitter, as many well-wishers sent him notes of support. He wrote: “Thank you everyone for your messages , words can’t describe how gutted I am, my road to recovery starts now, I will come back stronger.”
His former club Southampton told Shaw to “come back stronger”, to which he replied: “thank you, you don’t know how much you as a club mean to me , thank you so much I really appreciate it”