ROBIN VAN PERSIE shared an emotional moment with his son after the youngster suffered a horrific injury and had to be stretchered off.
The legendary forward currently manages Dutch club Feyenoord, where his son Shaqueel, 19, was having a breakthrough start to the year.
But things took a tragic turn on Thursday when the Rotterdam side faced Spanish outfit Real Betis in the Europa League.
The young star, who plays in the same position as his father, was left on the bench for the beginning of the game.
He was brought on in the 73rd minute, with his side already two goals down.
He made a near-instant impact, setting up team-mate Casper Tengstedt to pull one back in the 77th minute with an inch-perfect lob.
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But tragedy would strike just minutes later as he landed awkwardly while running and horrifically hyperextended his right knee.
He was immediately attended to by medical staff, and was eventually forced to be stretchered off to applause from the home and travelling fans.
Despite his managerial duties, his dad asked the medics to put the stretcher on the ground so he could kneel down and console his son at the side of the pitch.
The current prognosis for the injury is uncertain, but given the nasty looking moment it occurred, the youngster could be out for some time.
The older Van Persie told Dutch outlet Ziggo Sport: “It’s not looking good. Tests have to point out how he’s doing, but the first signs are not looking good.
“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.”
He added in a post-match conference: “As a coach, that’s one thing, but in this exceptional case also as a father, it’s heart-wrenching.”
The blow could not have come at a worse time for the rising star.
Shaqueel scored his first senior goals just weeks prior on January 18th against local rivals Sparta Rotterdam.
At 3-1 down in the 87th minute, he scored a deft backheel to bring his side back into contention.
He followed it up barely a minute later with a spectacular overhead kick to equalise in the derby with almost no time left in the game.
But he was denied a full hero’s story as Sparta’s Joshua Kitolano scored a heartbreaking winner in the 93rd minute.
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