Feyenoord talent Shaqueel van Persie was forced to leave his side’s UEFA Europa League game against Real Betis early after suffering a seemingly severe knee injury.
The 19-year-old Shaqueel van Persie, son of Feyenoord manager Robin van Persie, was brought on in the 73rd minute and assisted Casper Tengstedt’s 2-1, but was stretchered off ten minutes later after landing awkwardly on his right leg. The youngster’s knee bent backwards, leaving Van Persie in visibly agonising pain.
Robin van Persie came to check on Shaqueel after he reached the sideline, and the former Arsenal and Manchester United striker shared the first prognosis of his son’s injury.
“It’s not looking good. Tests have to point out how he’s doing, but the first signs are not looking good,” Van Persie told Ziggo Sport in his post-match interview.
“You hold your heart when any player goes down with an injury. It happened to be Shaqueel today, that’s just how it is. You hope for the best, but when you hear the first signs that it isn’t, it’s heartbreaking.”
‘It’s heartbreaking’
The young Van Persie made his senior debut for Feyenoord earlier this season, and recently wrote headlines with a spectacular brace in Feyenoord’s 4-3 loss to Sparta Rotterdam, scoring a backheel goal and bicycle kick in the space of two minutes.
Father Robin was left concerned on the sideline after son Shaqueel went down and admitted he stood there as a father rather than a manager.
“I’m a coach, but I’m also his father, and I find this terrible. It’s a bit of both. It’s heartbreaking that he’s going through this,” Robin van Persie concluded.
