Southgate concerned by non-contact nature of Gomez injury

BeSoccer 3 years ago 499 |

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Southgate is concerned by Gomez's injury. GOAL

The severity of Joe Gomez's knee injury is not yet clear, but Gareth Southgate is concerned after it happened with no players around him.

England manager Gareth Southgate was concerned by the non-contact element of Joe Gomez's knee injury, which was confirmed as the player left the camp.

Following reports of an issue in training, the Football Association (FA) and Liverpool each announced Gomez had withdrawn from the England squad for the friendly with Republic of Ireland and the Nations League matches against Belgium and Iceland.

Gomez will undergo further diagnosis with Liverpool's medical team, the Premier League champions suffering another blow to a defence already hit by injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

It is further pressure on a back line that has conceded 16 goals in eight Premier League games this season, an average of two per match, having shipped 0.87 per game in their triumphant 2019-20 campaign.

Speaking at a media conference ahead of the Ireland match, Southgate said of Gomez's injury: "I can't tell you how serious it is because he’s yet to have scans.

"What was upsetting was to see he was in a fair bit of pain. There was nobody around him when the injury happened and I didn't like that element of it.

"We've got to wait and see what the scans show. We're all hopeful for him that it's not what it looks like it might be."