Manchester United defender Luke Shaw is set to have a second operation on a broken leg on Friday, having suffered a 'clean break' in United's UEFA Champions League group stage game against PSV Eindhoven.
Shaw had surgery on broken right leg on Tuesday night
Shaw, 19, has undergone surgery at St Anna Ziekenhuis in Eindhoven where he was taken immediately after the injury, suffered following a reckless challenge from PSV's Hector Moreno.
Now, despite no comment from Manchester United Football Club, it is expected that Shaw will have another operation on his right leg, having broken his tibia and fibula.
United manager Louis van Gaal was seen patting the youngster on the arm as he went off on a stretcher at the Philipps Stadion on Tuesday evening. Reports then followed that Van Gaal and Shaw had spoken at the hospital with tears in their eyes. He said after the game, "I hope he can play again this season."
When asked how long Shaw would be out for, Van Gaal said, ''I am not a doctor so I cannot say that, but when you have a double fracture it is I think until six months.''
Both United and Shaw will be hugely disappointed with such an injury at such a stage in his career, having played just two full Premier League seasons so far. Also worrying about the injury will be England, who were set on to take Shaw as the first choice right-back to the 2016 European Championships in France.
Shaw set for second operation, 6 months till return
As Van Gaal said, it's expected Shaw will be out for at least six months although some doctors say nine months could be a more pessimistic evaluation of the injury.
Many other young players have had such horrific injuries before, like Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey when he too was 19. Ramsey has recovered superbly to be a regular figure in Arsenal's two-time FA Cup winning side, scoring the winner in the 2014 final. Shaw will be hoping to replicate Ramsey's recovery.