Manchester United: Hector Moreno apologises for tackle that led to Luke Shaw injury

PSV Eindhoven defender Hector Moreno has apologised for the tackle on Luke Shaw and said he didn't intend to hurt the 20-year-old. The former Southampton man has suffered a double fracture on his leg and could be out of action for months.

Shaw found a pocket of space in the Eindhoven defence and as he skipped past two defenders and into the penalty box, found himself on the wrong end of a tackle by Moreno, who went unpunished as he caught the ball in the process. Shaw was stretchered off the pitch and will now be operated on in Manchester.

"I feel really sorry for him and I feel really bad because I know how it's like," Moreno told SBS, as quoted by Goal. "This happened to me as well during the World Cup [vs Netherlands]. I want to wish him all the best, but it wasn't my intention to injure him. I'd rather had it didn't happen."

The evening went from bad to worse for Manchester United, who squandered a one-goal advantage earned by former PSV boy Memphis Depay. It is the second time in three games that United have failed to hold on to a lead, something which should worry Louis van Gaal as the team face a series of tough fixtures in the upcoming weeks. Moreno was the architect of PSV's comeback, scoring the equaliser in injury time of the first half.

Moreno's actions were backed by PSV head coach Phillip Cocu who confirmed that the defender had no intentions of hurting Shaw and said the unfortunate event was more circumstantial than intentional. "I felt very bad of course," Cocu said. "It's a very bad injury. He's a great player, important for the team, and whenever any player goes off with this kind of injury it's unfortunate. Even our players were affected by it."

When asked if he thought the tackle was malicious, he added, "It was not possible to see at the moment because there were a lot of players in the way. The one thing I saw was that the ball went in a different direction so he got something on the ball but I feel sorry for Luke."