Luke Shaw will not play again for Manchester United this season but is planning an early return to pre-season training in order to hit the ground running next term.

An exceptional start to the England international’s second season at Old Trafford was cruelly halted by a horrific injury during September’s Champions League clash at PSV Eindhoven.

Shaw suffered a double leg break in a tackle by Hector Moreno and there had been hopes the 20-year-old would feature for United before the season was out.

However, United are reluctant to rush him back to the first team, meaning he will have to wait until the 2016-17 to make his competitive return.

The severity of the injury saw Shaw undergo an operation in Holland, before undergoing minor surgery after returning to England.

The defender was, surprisingly, able to put weight back on his leg after just 10 days, with rehabilitation involving two hours in the pool each day once the wound had healed externally, as well as cycling and gym work.

Shaw underwent another minor operation three weeks ago to remove a screw, but things are understood to have gone without a hitch and the full-back has been training with United’s Under-21s since last Tuesday.

The England left-back is still not involved in contact sessions, though, and will not feature in United’s Premier League finale at home to Bournemouth or the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.

That extinguishes any faint hopes of a place in Roy Hodgson’s squad heading to Euro 2016, with Shaw now understood to be focusing on next season and planning to return to training in early June in a bid to be at his best when pre-season begins.