Everton have confirmed that an operation on André Gomes’s right ankle “went extremely well” after the Portugal international was injured during the draw against Tottenham on Sunday.
Gomes sustained a fracture dislocation at Goodison Park after being fouled by Son Heung-min, although it was a combination of an awkward landing and collision with Serge Aurier in the aftermath that caused the fracture. Players from both teams were visibly distraught as Gomes received treatment on the pitch before being taken to Aintree Hospital, with Everton confirming on Monday that the former Barcelona and Valencia midfielder has now had surgery.
“The Portugal international will now spend some time recovering in hospital, before returning to USM Finch Farm to start his rehabilitation under the guidance of the club’s medical staff,” read a statement. “The 26-year-old is expected to make a full recovery. On behalf of André, the club would like to thank all Everton supporters and members of the wider football family for the overwhelming messages of support we have received since yesterday’s match.”
Red card
Tottenham’s Ben Davies has admitted the injury deeply affected everyone in the Tottenham and Everton teams on Sunday but insisted Son, who was shown a red card by referee Martin Atkinson, did not intentionally hurt the Portugal international. “It does affect you,” he said. “It’s not the first time it has happened to me in a game, it happened when Séamus Coleman suffered a bad injury for Ireland [against Wales] as well. It shakes you up, it really does. It doesn’t matter if it’s your team-mate or not. You can see the emotion across the pitch.
“Nobody goes on the pitch to hurt anyone, especially not somebody like Son, who is a bit broken dealing with what has happened. The team just have to sometimes say these things happen in football and, as horrible as it is, they do. For us it is just hoping André Gomes is okay now.”
Appeal
Son was initially booked by Atkinson but then sent off for what the Premier League later clarified as “endangering the safety of a player which happened as a consequence of his initial challenge”. The Spurs manager, Mauricio Pochettino, did not rule out the possibility of an appeal against the dismissal after the game.
“Son is really shaken up,” added Davies. “He’s down about what happened. I speak for everyone when I say sympathy for Gomes, I hope he’s all right. We will try to pick him [Son] up as much as we can. It’s tough right now. It’s just about making sure that he realises he didn’t go out there to hurt anyone. He thinks that people may see that in him, but it’s not the case.
“It’s one of those things. There were probably three more tackles that were worse than the incident that happened. It’s a freak moment in football. Son can’t let himself be too down about it.” – Guardian
