Manchester United

Louis van Gaal: Luke Shaw's mental strength "amazes me"

By Tom Nightingale, Reporter | 18 September 2015

Louis van Gaal admits that Luke Shaw's mental toughness has amazed him after the defender's leg was broken in a tackle against PSV Eindhoven.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has praised Luke Shaw's attitude after the defender's leg was broken in a tackle, calling his mental strength 'amazing'.

The 20-year-old left-back could reportedly return to Manchester tomorrow after undergoing a second operation in Eindhoven after he suffered the injury during the Champions League defeat against PSV in the Netherlands on Tuesday night.

The England international is likely to miss the rest of the season and next summer's Euro 2016, but Van Gaal admitted that he has been surprised by Shaw's mental toughness in the aftermath of the incident.

"I called him last night," Van Gaal told reporters on Friday. "He sounds very strong, which was amazing for me – a big surprise.

"It is a good signal, but he knows that he has long way to go and it is not easy. His family is there, we have sent people with him and he will come back when he is prepared, maybe tomorrow.

"He will have a long period of rehabilitation and he has a long way to go. It is not only physical, but mental. For us it is a big loss, as a team. I have said that this will be the season of Luke Shaw, but now it is finished early."

Shaw joined Manchester United from Southampton in 2014 for a fee thought to be in the region of £30m, and would have been in line to face his former club when the two teams meet at St Mary's this Sunday.