Football
Kevin Palmer 9y

Ex-Man United physio: Luke Shaw will bounce back from leg break

Luke Shaw's double leg break is "merely a blip" on his road to the top of the game, former Southampton and Manchester United physio Matt Radcliffe told ESPN FC.

Shaw is facing a lengthy rehabilitation after breaking his tibia and fibula following a challenge from Hector Moreno in United's 2-1 Champions League defeat at PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.

Two orthopaedic surgeons and a trauma specialist conducted an operation on Shaw's leg on the night of the match, and Press Association Sport reported that the defender is expected to have a second operation in Eindhoven on Friday.

Shaw will remain in Eindhoven until United's medical staff are happy for him to come home, PA reported.

Radcliffe, who worked with Shaw as senior physiotherapist at Southampton before moving to Old Trafford shortly after the left-back made the same switch in 2014, remains confident the England international will be back to his best at some stage in 2016.

Radcliffe, who parted ways with United in June, said: "All of us who have had any role in Luke's career felt for him on Tuesday night, but he will quickly come to terms with what has happened and get back on the road to recovery.

"Luke has a great family around him and they will be very important in the first few days after this injury. Having the people you know best around you helps to put things into perspective and at the end of the day, this is just a minor blip in Luke's career.

"While it is hard to see it like that when you have suffered an injury as bad as this, that is how we have to look at it. When the time comes to look back on Luke's career in a few years' time, hopefully this incident will just be part of what should be a successful story.

"Luke is a sensible lad and even though this will be a difficult period for him, he will quickly appreciate that he has plenty of years ahead of him to achieve everything he wants in the game.

"We are talking here about a kid who is only 20 and, the way the medical profession can deal with this kind of major injury now, it shouldn't have any effect on him in the long term."

Radcliffe, who is currently working with Indian Super League team FC Pune City, said the United medical staff will have already devised a programme to get Shaw back to full fitness.

"A broken bone is often easier to deal with from a medical perspective than ligament issues," he said. "You need to overcome a series of hurdles when you suffer a big injury like this and just have to hope there are no complications along the way.

"Having worked at United last season, I know Luke will be in wonderful hands with the doctors they have working there. They are superb professionals and Luke should get the best of care.

"What seems like a long road back now will be made to look a little less daunting when he sits down with the medical people and sets out a timetable for when he might be back.

"The period that he is out for will go very quickly as he will be working hard to get himself back in contention to play again. Hopefully Luke can get back on the field again this season and, as he knows, I wish him nothing but the best."

Meanwhile, PSV sporting director Marcel Brands has told ESPN Deportes that Mexico international Moreno planned to visit Shaw in hospital.

"He has not yet, but he probably will tomorrow [Thursday]," Brands said.

Moreno, whose challenge was defended by former United captain Roy Keane, suffered a broken leg during the 2014 World Cup.

Brands added: "He was sad because he knew how bad [the injury] was. He himself had a big injury last season and when he was on the field he knew it didn't look good. Hector is a very ethical player and he was very affected by what happened."

Brands praised the former Espanyol defender for scoring one of the two goals that helped PSV beat United in what was Moreno's Champions League debut for the Eredivisie club.

"It was a close game against a great club and they have always been a favorite of our team so it was a great surprise to beat them," he said.

"We have known him [Moreno] since he played with AZ Alkmaar [from 2008 to 2011]. PSV tried many times to bring Hector over in the past, but were not able to.

"Now he was ready to come and in addition to the fact that he wanted to come to play in Champions League and he played pretty well [against Manchester United] he also scored a very important goal. He has brought experience to our team."

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward visited Shaw the morning after the match.

The player himself has not set a target for his comeback date, but manager Louis van Gaal said after the match that he could return by March.

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