There was a lot of misery for Manchester United as they suffered a 2-1 loss to PSV Eindhoven in their opening fixture of the UEFA Champions League. Manchester United’s Champions League return got off to a nightmare start when defender Luke Shaw was tackled by PSV defender Hector Moreno in the early stages of the game and he had to be stretchered off the pitch after minutes of treatment on the field. After the match, Manchester United confirmed that Luke Shaw suffered a double leg fracture and it looks as if the defender could be out for at least six months.
Shaw received plenty of support on Twitter from his united teammates, Premier League clubs, including his former club Southampton, and title rivals Arsenal, many faces across the sporting world, such as Andy Murray, and many Football fans. Before the start of the season, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal seemed very confident in his defender claiming that this would be the ‘season of Shaw’ and Luke Shaw looked as if he was going to make good on the manager’s belief, as he had a very solid start to the season, linking up well with Memphis Depay and contributing to United’s forward movements in matches. The injury will undoubtedly frustrate Shaw, whose debut season with the Red Devils was plagued by injuries as well as fitness problems and was looking to stake his claim as the starting left back for the club.
Luke Shaw stayed in Eindhoven whilst the rest of the club made their way back to Manchester. Manchester United made a statement on the situation: “Luke Shaw underwent surgery in Eindhoven to continue his early recovery. Manchester United are grateful for the excellent care that he is receiving and would like to thank everyone who has sent messages of support.
A further update will be provided in due course.”
The injury had a negative effect on everyone involved with Hector Moreno, giving his thoughts on the incident after the match saying: “I just feel really bad because I was involved in the accident. I feel really sorry.” Moreno suffered a broken leg of his own last year and is very aware of what Luke Shaw will be going through.
Daley Blind claimed that the injury affected the whole team for the rest of the match as it took an emotional toll on the side.
United will look to progress in the Champions League and win some silverware this season, however they will have to do a lot of that without Shaw who has been a bright spot in the early stages of Manchester United’s season.
