He is the man whose tackle looks likely to have ended Luke Shaw’s season, but Hector Moreno is painfully familiar with broken legs and Manchester United.
In a cruel twist of fate, Shaw’s double leg-break was inflicted by a man whose own dreams of a United career were ended by a fractured tibia.
Moreno suffered the break while playing for Mexico against Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands team at the World Cup, and it was reported at the time that the Dutch manager had earmarked Moreno as a potential Old Trafford recruit.
Mundo Deportivo suggested in the summer of 2014 that Van Gaal had been impressed by the PSV defender’s performances for his country and was ready to reunite with a player who he had managed at AZ Alkmaar.
Instead, following the injury, United brought in Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind while Moreno stayed at Espanyol for another year before moving to PSV this summer.
Last night, Moreno passed on his best wishes to the English defender and then took to Twitter to offer Shaw further support.
First of all I wanna send my strenght to @LukeShaw23 I've been through this before and I know how it feels.. So I hope a fast recovery 1/2
— Héctor Moreno (@HectorMorenoh) September 15, 2015
For you and see u again on the field. All the best. 2/2
— Héctor Moreno (@HectorMorenoh) September 15, 2015