Serious injury overshadows match
Everton midfielder Andre Gomes’ serious injury and Tottenham forward Son Heung-min’s tears overshadowed their teams’ 1-1 draw in the Premier League yesterday.
Son was inconsolable following his late challenge on the Portuguese midfielder for which he was sent off. Gomes received treatment on the field for an ankle injury before being stretchered off and taken by ambulance to Aintree Hospital in Liverpool.
Gomes will undergo surgery today after “it was confirmed he had suffered a fracture dislocation to his right ankle,” Everton said in a statement late yesterday.
Both teams appeared distraught at the extent of the injury, seemingly caused by an awkward landing following Son’s challenge. Referee Martin Atkinson gave Son the red card after initially showing yellow, and Son left the pitch in tears.
“He’s disappointed, he’s in tears,” Tottenham scorer Dele Alli said. “It’s not his fault. He can hardly pick his head up, he’s crying that much.”
Everton substitute Cenk Tosun scored deep into 12 minutes of injury time to salvage a draw for the home side.
Son had earlier capitalised on a mislaid pass from Everton midfielder Alex Iwobi to slide in Alli, who surged past a defender before opening the scoring in the 63rd minute.
Everton might have had a penalty after Alli appeared to handle the ball after tangling with Yerry Mina while challenging for a header in the 70th minute, but a lengthy VAR check allowed play to continue.
The home side pushed for the equaliser after Son’s sending off and it duly came in the 97th minute, when Tosun headed in from close range after Lucas Digne crossed.
“Unfortunately we switched off for a split second and they scored. We send our best wishes to [Gomes],” Alli said.
Everton said it “will provide further updates in due course”.
Spurs are 11th and Everton 17th after 11 rounds in a season of underachievement for both sides.
● Former champions Leicester City continued their strong showing in the league this season with a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace yesterday.
Leicester moved up to third after Turkey defender Caglar Soyuncu opened the scoring with his first goal for the club in the 57th minute, when he was left free to head in after a deflected corner.
Jamie Vardy sealed the result in the 88th minute after a fine combination with Demarai Gray.
Palace failed to register an effort on target in the first half. Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel tipped away former teammate Jeffrey Schlupp’s deflected effort before Jonny Evans blocked Luka Milivojevic’s low effort in the second.
Schmeichel was forced to kick away several objects thrown on to the field from fans in the first half.
Leicester, the 2016 champions, moved ahead of Chelsea on goal difference.
Both are two points behind Manchester City and eight behind league leaders Liverpool, while Palace are ninth.