Gareth Southgate confirmed Liverpool fans’ worst fears regarding Joe Gomez’s serious injury in Wednesday’s pre-match press conference, but the details of the blow are truly heartbreaking.
Southgate found it ‘upsetting’ that the 23-year-old was alone when the incident occurred, adding that Gomez was left in a ‘fair bit of pain’.
Liverpool reported on Thursday that the ace has already undergone successful surgery after damage to a tendon in his left knee, with Gomez now likely to be sidelined for a ‘significant’ part of the season.
All our support is with the centre-back, it’s truly devastating that Gomez was away from his England teammates when the injury struck.
Heartbreaking to hear Gareth Southgate talk on Wednesday about the fact that Joe Gomez wasn't around any of his England teammates when he suffered the serious knee injury… pic.twitter.com/8AXAP85N8Q
— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) November 14, 2020
“What was upsetting was that he was in a fair bit of pain and the fact that nobody was around him when the injury happened. So I didn’t like that element of it.”
Southgate also told ITV (via the Echo) that he talked with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp about the injury on Wednesday night, describing it as ‘tragic’.
Gomez has started a lot of games for Liverpool over the last couple of seasons, with the ace forming a solid partnership with Virgil van Dijk due to Joel Matip’s constant injury troubles.
The Charlton academy graduate was also emerging as a starter for England, now that Southgate deploys three central defenders at the back.
We hope that Gomez can recover in time for the final portion of the 2020/21 season and that he returns in time to get enough opportunities to cement a spot in England’s squad for next summer’s Euros.
Gomez’s serious blow has worsened Liverpool’s defensive dilemma, Van Dijk is sidelined with a long-term knee injury, Fabinho is currently out and Matip only mad his return to action against Man City.
This means that Liverpool will have to call on academy graduates Rhys Williams and Nat Phillips even more so until the January transfer window, where they could recruit another central defender.