Luke Shaw 'could MISS the rest of the season after surgery to screws from leg'

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw reportedly could miss the rest of the season with his recovery from surgery 'taking longer than expected'.

The England international went into surgery last week to have metal bolts removed from his leg which were originally inserted after he broke his leg in a Champions League clash in 2015.

Interim boss Ralf Rangnick hoped to have Shaw back in a matter of weeks but according to the Telegraph, the operation is taking longer to recover from than initially expected.

It's said the 26-year-old could be set to miss the rest of the campaign in a blow to United's ever-reducing hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

Shaw first felt discomfort with his leg during the international break when away with England.

Then during Manchester United's recent 1-1 draw with Leicester, the left-back received attention towards the end of the half but carried on until the break when he was then substituted.

Interim boss Ralf Rangnick said last week: 'We had to take him off at half-time and he is having problems with his leg where he had the operation back in 2015.

'The doctor told me they have decided to remove the metal bolts in his leg - they need to be removed - and that is happening and he will be out for the next two or three weeks.'

While Rangnick hoped to have Shaw back soon, the new reports suggest that they are in a race against time to have him fit available at all for the rest of the season.

Dropped points in the draw with Leicester and the 1-0 defeat at Everton, have left United seventh in the table - six points off Tottenham who occupy the final Champions League spot.

It leaves them with seven games remaining to salvage their season.

Shaw suffered a double fracture of the leg in September 2015 after a poor challenge from then PSV defender Hector Moreno.

In total, he missed 11 months of action and would not become a regular in the United side until the 2018-19 season.

'I was really close to losing my leg,' Shaw said back in 2018.

'I didn't know that until six months later when the doctor told me. At the time, they were thinking about flying me back [from Holland].

'If I'd flown back [to Manchester], I would probably have lost my leg because of the blood clots in the leg. I have got two scars down the side of my leg where they had to cut it open and pull the clots out.'

Shaw has also struggled on the injury front this term, often forcing Rangnick to call upon Brazilian back-up Alex Telles.