Sir Alex Ferguson was left 'numb' by 'really serious' injury to Man Utd wonderkid on his debut

Sir Alex Ferguson was once left "number" by a "pretty horrendous" injury one of his Manchester United players suffered on their full debut for the club.

Back in September 2008, United beat Middlesbrough 3-1 in a League Cup tie, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Ryan Giggs all on target at Old Trafford.

However, the win was overshadowed by a horrendous injury suffered by Rodrigo Possebon, a Brazilian midfielder who was signed from Internacional in the January transfer window.

Wearing the No.34 shirt, Possebon made his debut coming on as a substitute for Giggs against Newcastle United in August. Just over a month later and he was handed a start in the cup and made a huge impression with a tidy display.

However, in the 66th minute, he was on the receiving end of a shocking challenge from Austrian defender Emanuel Pogatetz, who was sent off for the horror tackle.

Pogatetz's studs went right into the leg of Possebon at a sickening impact when he followed through and the youngster had to be stretchered off with an oxygen mask attached to his face.

Rodrigo Possebon suffered a horrendous injury on his first Man United start. Image: Getty

Possebon miraculously avoided a broken leg but the tackle was so bad that Gareth Southgate, then manager of Middlesbrough, issued an apology.

And Ferguson was very much shaken up by the injury. Speaking in a post-match interview, he said: "It looked a really bad one. For the kid to make his first-team debut and get an injury like that was pretty horrendous.

"For 10 minutes everyone was numb about it. I have seen a video of it and you don't want to see that again. We just hope it is not really, really serious, but it looks bad."

Remarkably, Possebon was back playing for the reserve side a month later and made a further appearance six appearances for United's first-team in all competitions.

After a short loan with Braga was cut short, he returned to Brazil with Santos and turned out for a number of clubs in his native country - as well as brief stints in Italy and Vietnam.

The 35-year-old has enjoyed success after early retirement, taking up roles at Ferroviaria and Barra FC before becoming director of football at Athletico Paranaense.