Louis van Gaal in July: 'I think that it shall be the season of Luke Shaw'

Manchester United manager's positive prediction now sounds like a dark premonition

Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw's double leg break, suffered in Manchester United's Champions League encounter with PSV Eindohoven, looks almost certain to rule the left-back out for the rest of the season.

Whilst such a serious injury is always terrible news for a footballer, the age, form and hopes for Shaw this season only serve to make it more devastating.

Having joined from Southampton in 2014, Shaw struggled in his first year at Old Trafford, a situation seemingly not helped when Louis van Gaal publicly questioned the player's fitness.

But ahead of the current campaign, Van Gaal saw much more promise in Shaw - predicting that the 20-year-old could be the stand-out player at the club.

“Luke Shaw is a big talent. He’s very young so it’s not so easy for him to come from Southampton to as big a club as Manchester United,” said the former Netherlands manager. “I think that it shall be the season of Luke Shaw, that I believe. I believe in him and he has to feel that and I hope he shall show it. But he’s 20 years old. How many players of that age are playing in the Premier League?”

Those words were backed up by Shaw's superb start to the season in which he has been arguably United's best and most consistent player.

But after last night's injury, Van Gaal's prediction that it shall be the season of Luke Shaw sound more like a dark premonition than the wisdom of a manager who has worked with many of the best.