Tottenham star Son breaks down in tears as Andre Gomes suffers broken ankle which will be operated on today
TOTTENHAM forward Son Heung-min broke down in tears after his tackle on Andre Gomes led to the Everton man suffering a broken and dislocated right ankle.
The traumatised South Korean international was initially going to be awarded a yellow card for a foul on the 26-year-old who was rushed to nearby Aintree hospital.
But Martin Atkinson upgraded it to a red as medics came to the aid of the Portuguese man, who will have surgery on Monday to repair the damage.
The Toffees said in a statement last night: “Everton Football Club can confirm Andre Gomes will undergo surgery tomorrow (Monday, November 4) after sustaining an ankle injury in today’s game with Tottenham Hotspur.
“The Portugal international was stretchered from the pitch during the second half of the game and taken straight to Aintree Hospital by ambulance accompanied by members of the Everton medical team.
His eyes were open so big. He was crying, shouting and screaming. I just tried to hold him and speak to him
Cenk Tosun
“After undergoing hospital tests, it was confirmed he had suffered a fracture dislocation to his right ankle.
“The Club will provide further updates in due course.”
It appeared that Gomes’ leg got caught in the turf as he landed awkwardly in the 78th minute.
Son’s tackle forced Gomes to ground, with Aurier then colliding with the former Barcelona ace just as he hit the deck.
Seamus Coleman instantly called for medics to arrive to treat his team-mate, as Cenk Tosun cradled Gomes’ head as he laid screaming on the floor.
Aurier – who was involved in the collision – had to be replaced in the five minutes after Gomes went off as he looked visibly distraught.
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Dele Alli – who netted the opener before Cenk Tosun equalised in stoppage time – revealed that Son has been left devastated by the incident.
He told Sky Sports: “I didn’t want to look too much at what happened [to Gomes]. All I can do is send him my best wishes and wish him a quick recovery.
“Son is devastated, he’s in tears but it’s not his fault. He’s one of the nicest people you would want to meet and he’s not like that.
“He can’t even lift his head up he’s crying that much in the dressing room.”
Gomes’ team-mate Tosun said: “Some players, they nearly cried. Andre was in shock.
“His eyes were open so big. He was crying, shouting and screaming. I just tried to hold him and speak to him.
“I tried to tell him to stay calm. We couldn’t understand him. He was the one who had got the injury.”
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said after the game: “We feel very sorry. It was a really bad situation and bad luck with how he landed in the action and we can only send our best wishes and of course, we are devastated for the situation.
“Football is not important, he is important and the situation and we can talk about football but always feeling bad, feeling story and very devastated for the action because it was so difficult.”
Speaking of Son, he added: “He was devastated. It was a situation that was very confused, it was difficult to keep calm. After, when you watch the action on TV, it is never the intention and it was never a tackle to do what happened after.
“It was a very bad luck for Andre, very bad luck for the Everton and the finish with a red card for Sonny was really unfair.”
Asked if he was planning to appeal Son’s red card in his post-match press conference, he said: “I don’t know. It’s possible, but I don’t know.”
Pochettino then revealed that the Everton players had come to console him in the dressing room after the game.
He added: “Son was devastated, now he is better. I think the players from Everton came to console him.
Everton manager Marco Silva confirmed Gomes had been rushed to hospital, but didn’t state the full extent of the injury.
He told Sky Sports: “I didn’t see the moment yet. I saw it live and nothing more. I cannot talk to you about the tackle, the incident, other things that happened.
“He went to the hospital. The medical staff are taking control of everything and they will have more information.
“It is better we wait until it is a little bit more clear. Of course, it is a bad moment for us as a group and as a team.
“Of course, it is more than a football game. But now we will support Andre and his family.”
Gomes’ team-mate Fabian Delph said: “We feel just as you can imagine. It’s difficult time for us. He is one of our brothers, someone we care about. It is difficult to put into words how we feel.
“As soon as we could get in touch we will send him our best. It’s difficult to see. It’s hard to talk now.”
Jamie Carragher was quick to defend the ex-Hamburg winger over the tackle, as he declared: “It’s not a red card.
“Son is just trying to stop him in his tracks and Gomes’ foot just gets caught underneath him.
“Aurier comes in behind but it wasn’t either player, really.
“The challenge from Son forces him to ground and he gets his foot underneath him as Aurier come in.”
Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen said: “Shocking decision to send Son off but that’s insignificant in the scheme of things.
“The wellbeing of players is the most important thing. Get well soon Andre Gomes.”
Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker tweeted: “Son clearly massively upset. Without the injury he wouldn’t have been shown a red card.
“He’ll care less about that than injuring a fellow professional so seriously. Such a shame.”
“In the moment it was confusing. The action was very, very, very bad luck. We all feel sorry for Andre, I want to send my best wishes to him and his family. In this tough moment we want to send our best wishes.
“The VAR need to check if the tackle is bad from Sonny, and judge the action, not judge what happened after.”