Manchester United left back Luke Shaw suffered a gruesome double fracture of the leg during the first half of the club's UEFA Champions League Group B loss to PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.

As noted by the club website's report, the England international cut inside from the left in the 15th minute looking to penetrate the Dutch defense before getting a rough challenge from Hector Moreno, which sent him immediately to the ground.

The 20-year-old was then stretchered off the pitch.

It was an unfortunate development for Shaw, who has had a brilliant start to the 2015-16 season, fresh off finishing third in United's Player of the Month voting for August.

"Thank you everyone for your messages, words can't describe how gutted I am, my road to recovery starts now, I will come back stronger," Shaw wrote on Twitter.

"I'm not a doctor, so I cannot say, but when you have a double fracture, it is four to six months," United manager Louis Van Gaal said. "But you can never say that in advance. He won't play in the group stage, I don't think. I hope he will play again this season."

Moreno has since apologized for his tackle on Shaw.

"I know how it feels," Moreno, who also suffered a similarly horrific injury when he broke his leg while playing for Mexico told SBS6. "I know how difficult such a thing. I feel very bad about it. I am so sorry."

"It is awful," Van Gaal said. "The boy who comes at 18 years old to Manchester, has a very difficult season, his second season, he plays fantastic, then this happens."

"When he was going to the dressing room, he was wearing the oxygen mask and was crying."

PSV won the match against United 2-1. Moreno scored the equalizer in Eindhoven before Luciano Narsingh scored the game winner, sending United's group stage campaign to a losing start.