Players back Mccarthy after leg break horror
Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler was among those sending their support and best wishes to James Mccarthy after the Everton midfielder suffered a horrific double leg break at the weekend.
The former Hamilton player sustained the damage on Saturday following a freak accident involving West Bromwich Albion striker Solomon Rondon, who was left in tears after immediately realising the severity of the incident.
Mccarthy, 27, is likely to face around a year on the sidelines and a gruelling rehabilitation process – and the sporting world has rallied around the Glasgow-born Republic of Ireland internationalist.
Fowler, inset, who scored 183 goals in two spells with Liverpool, tweeted: “Nasty injury to James Mccarthy. Never nice seeing that happening to players regardless of who they are or what club they’re at. Wishing you all the best and a speedy recovery.”
A crushed Rondon wrote: “Absolutely devastated. Rivalries are forgotten about when a colleague suffers such an unlucky injury. Really hope to see you back playing again soon.”
Past and present teammates were also left gutted by the injury to the popular player, Idrissa Gana Gueye tweeting after the 1-1 draw at Goodison “I feel terrible for James Mccarthy and I am praying you recover and come back stronger,” while Ross Barkley, now at Chelsea, added “devastated for you, wishing you a speedy recovery lad”.
Scotland internationalist Charlie Adam added: “Sad to see James Mccarthy suffer a terrible injury today. Hope he recovers well and gets back playing soon.”
Support also came from boxing superstar and Everton supporter Tony Bellew, who wrote: “Gutted for Jamesy! Just gutted.”
Mccarthy’s injury came in the second half and was purely accidental. Rondon kicked his opponent’s leg as Mccarthy nicked the ball off him in the act of shooting. Blues manager Sam Allardyce confirmed Everton’s worst fears following the incident and Mccarthy will undergo extensive surgery following a consultation with a top specialist. It is believed that he will be operated on today.
Allardyce said: “His tibia and fibula have been broken from his really brave efforts to stop West Brom with a possible scoring opportunity.
“Obviously it’s a big blow for him and us because he’s had so many games missed recently with not-so-serious injuries that we thought we had overcome. Now this is one serious injury which we know will keep him out until next season at some stage, that’s a big blow.” Baggies manager Alan Pardew praised Rondon’s performance on what was a difficult day for the Venezuelan.
“We were discussing on the sideline whether he would be able to continue as he was really distraught but we managed to claw him back,” said Pardew. “Once he got his head right he went back to how he had played.” Watford last night named 47-year-old Spaniard Javi Gracia as their new manager, just hours after sacking Marco Silva.
The English Premier League side – who are sitting tenth in thedivisionbutjustfourpoints above the relegation zone – announced yesterday morning that they had dismissed Silvaandthatan“unwarranted approach” from Everton late last year was “the catalyst” for the decision.
Watford claimed Everton’s interest in Silva in November led to “a significant deterioration in both focus and results” and as a result “the long-term
0 Marco Silva: Dismissed. future of the club had been jeopardised”.
Around nine hours later Gracia was in place on an 18-month deal. He has managed clubs in Greece, Russia and Spain, including leading Malaga to two top-ten finishes.