The main story coming from Everton’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur yesterday was the horrific injury suffered by Portuguese midfielder Andre Gomes. The dynamic midfielder has suffered a fractured dislocation to his right ankle. The ex-Barcelona fell awkwardly after a Heung-min Son challenge, with the South Korean later red-carded for the incident.
It was a horrible injury but something Everton fans have become almost accustomed to in recent years. In fact, it has become something of an unwanted annual occurrence.
Last January, James McCarthy suffered a terrible double leg break after a collision with Salomon Rondon during in a game with West Brom. The Venezuelan, just like Son last night, was left visibly distraught by the incident.
In 2017, Everton also suffered a huge injury blow. Seamus Coleman broke his leg after a high-velocity challenge with Wales defender Neil Taylor whilst on international duty with the Republic of Ireland.
In 2016, it was Yannick Bolasie. The DR Congo winger suffered an awful knee injury against Manchester United, ruling him out for over a year.
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Those are the most recent incidents, but Leighton Baines missed much of 2015 with a nasty ankle problem, 2014 saw Bryan Oviedo’s shocking leg break against Stevenage and 2013 was the year new signing Arouna Kone suffered knee cartilage damage in October and did not return until December 2014.
The real concern is what happened to all these players upon their recovery. None of them ever truly recaptured their best form for Everton, with the injury issues undoubtedly playing a role.
Everton fans will just hope that Gomes can not only make a speedy recovery but get back to his best upon his return.