Shaw sacrificed holiday for United – Mourinho

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was full of praise for left-back Luke Shaw, who made his return from a serious knee injury in the club’s opening pre-season fixture.

After 10 months injured on the sidelines, Shaw made his long-awaited comeback from a broken leg as United opened the Mourinho era with a 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic on Saturday.

Shaw, who suffered the gruesome knee injury against PSV in September last year, was named in the starting XI and played 45 minutes at the DW Stadium, his work ethic impressing Mourinho.

“When I found Luke at the training ground, it was a surprise for me because I thought he couldn’t be ready to train without any type of limitation, but he did fantastic in the summer. He sacrificed his holiday,” Mourinho said.

“He stayed in Manchester and was at the training ground every day, putting himself in condition.

“Of course, you lose a bit of sharpness of condition and confidence, that is normal, but he is trying hard.” 

Great being back pic.twitter.com/OlAVpJlAyB

— Luke Shaw (@LukeShaw23) July 16, 2016

Following the match, Shaw took to Twitter to try and describe his emotional return to the pitch.

“Can’t describe how I felt today being back on the pitch again. But thank you to all the fans for the support I received today,” the 21-year-old England international wrote.

United will now fly out to China for matches against Borussia Dortmund (July 22) and Manchester City (July 26) in the International Champions Cup.