Shawcross left the field in tears after seeing the extent of Ramsey's injury

Stoke chairman Peter Coates says that Ryan Shawcross's tackle which broke Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey's leg was just part of football.

Shawcross was sent off for the tackle and left the field in tears.

"He's nothing to reproach himself for, it was very unfortunate," Coates told BBC Radio Stoke.

"It does happen in professional football. When you've got a game as intense and quick as it is in the Premier League, things can go wrong."

Coates continued: "It's a real shame, but Ryan simply has got to understand that it's the game we're in and it can happen.

"Rory Delap had a double fracture in his first game for us and was out for eight months, but we accepted it as part and parcel of the game.

"Nobody goes out to do these things, but they can happen and I'm sure that some time in the future it will happen again."

Coates admitted that the events of Saturday took the shine of what should have been a celebratory moment for Shawcross, his first call-up for the full England squad and the first for a Stoke player since Mark Chamberlain in 1984.

"We're really pleased for him," he continued. "It's a recognition of how far he's come and we're not surprised [with the call-up] because we think he's one of the best young centre-backs in the Premier League."

Shawcross reported for duty with his England team-mates on Monday, ahead of the friendly against Egypt at Wembley on Wednesday.

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