INJURY ENDS JOHNSTONE’S EUROS HOPES
HEARTACHE FOR KEEPER AS HE UNDERGOES SURGERY
CRYSTAL PALACE goalkeeper Sam Johnstone has been ruled out of the rest of the season and will miss this summer’s Euros after undergoing elbow surgery this morning.
Johnstone sustained an injury when saving a shot in training on England duty last week and the 31-year-old faces an extended period on the sidelines.
The injury is a major blow for both Palace and England manager Gareth Southgate, who was set to take Johnstone to Germany as second-choice behind Jordan Pickford.
Johnstone has been in impressive form for Palace this season, but his operation means he is the first England injury casualty ahead of the Euros.
His injury will present an opportunity for Nick Pope, Jack Butland, James Trafford and Dean Henderson, who will deputise for him at Palace, to force their way into the squad as an understudy to Pickford alongside Aaron Ramsdale.
Johnstone’s injury is also a setback for new Palace manager Oliver Glasner, who has made Johnstone his No1 since taking over at Palace.
Ivan Toney, meanwhile, believes he did enough against Belgium last night to seal a place in the Euros squad.
The Brentford striker scored a penalty and played well on his full debut to strengthen his claim to get the nod ahead of Ollie Watkins as understudy to Harry Kane.
Toney held his nerve with his spot-kick, despite a long VAR check, as he sent Belgium goalkeeper Matz Sels the wrong way to score his first England goal. His penalty came between goals by Youri Tielemans, before Jude Bellingham rescued a 2-2 draw with an equaliser in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Toney’s display was one of the positives for boss Southgate on a tricky night for England, and the 28-year-old was pleased with his impact. Asked whether he had done enough to seal a spot in the 23-man squad, Toney said: “I hope I did. I’m always going to work hard. Ollie is my competition, but it’s friendly competition. I wish him all the best every time he goes on the pitch.
“But I felt like I did well. Hopefully, I gave myself a good chance of putting my name forward to be there for the Euros. It’s a joy to play with these players. I’m sure that, hopefully, I can play with them a lot more.”
Toney has now scored 29 of his 31 career penalties and his 93.5 per cent success rate will surely be something Southgate thinks about, given the possibility of shoot-outs.
“I’ve always got to stay calm,” Toney added. “At the penalty spot I always do that. I just stay calm, make the keeper wait for me and just slot it in the back of the net. Peter Beardsley messaged me this morning and said, ‘You made your debut a year ago today’. It’s extra special — a year later I’m starting here and scoring a goal.”
Watkins did not score on his start against Brazil on Saturday, but kept the ball alive for Bellingham’s equaliser when he came off the bench last night and pushed the case for Southgate to take three strikers.
It was not a perfect performance from Toney, who volleyed a chance against his own hand in the first minute and should have scored early in the second half. But to many he proved himself to be a better like-for-like replacement for Kane.
Defensive errors from Pickford and Lewis Dunk cost England, but Southgate was upbeat about the performance in the final game before he names his provisional squad for the Euros.
“That competitive spirit not to lose is decisive in getting the late goal,” said the England manager. “The whole team showed that. I was very pleased with what I saw. Saturday’s performance I was very pleased with, bar the transitions and the final third of play. Here, the final-third play was very good, the finish just wasn’t there.”