Nani saddened by Danny Welbeck's ‘serious’ ankle injury during Arsenal's goalless draw with Sporting

The former Manchester United striker was given oxygen and stretchered from the field in a leg brace after landing awkwardly

Sporting winger Nani offered his support to former Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck after the Arsenal striker suffered a suspected broken ankle during the Europa League clash between the two teams on Thursday.

Welbeck was given oxygen and stretchered from the field in a leg brace after landing awkwardly following an aerial challenge in the first half of the 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium.

Nani consoled Welbeck as the striker was taken off the pitch to go straight to hospital, and after the match the Portugal international admitted: “It was a very sad moment.

“I feel very sorry for him, he is a great person. A good lad and a good friend. When that kind of moment happens in the game you feel very sad.

“I don't know what to say, I just want him to recover well and I hope it is nothing serious but you can see something happened there so I wish him all the best and a very fast recovery.”

Welbeck, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has suffered a number of serious injuries during his career and now looks set for another long spell out of action.

“It's the worst news tonight, this injury. It's clear that we are with him in these minutes,” Arsenal manager Unai Emery said.

Welbeck is set for a long spell out as he approaches the end of his Arsenal contract (Getty Images)

“He was working well and he was having a good match. He had some chances too. His injury was with the mentality of the players. They saw it was a big injury.

“When you are playing football, when you are playing in competitive matches, it can happen. You don't want it to happen but this is our profession.

“Now he is at the hospital. The news is that we are going to wait - but we think it's a serious injury.”

Asked if Welbeck has a future at Arsenal beyond this season, Emery replied: “He's a very good person. His commitment with us is very big. He's helped us with his behaviour, with his quality and his capacity.

“It's a very big injury for him, for us, for all people who like and love him as a person.”

The goalless draw extended Arsenal’s unbeaten run under Emery to 15 matches in all competitions, and was enough to secure their place in the Europa League knockout stage.