TWO young Everton fans were left visibly distraught after witnessing at close quarters Andre Gomes’ horror ankle injury.
The Everton midfielder, 26, was rushed to hospital when a collision with Spurs’ Son Heung-min left him with a fractured and dislocated ankle.
Son was inconsolable when he realised the magnitude of the impact and team-mate Serge Aurier was subbed off while clearly in shock.
But the devastation was not confined to the players.
Television footage showed two young Toffees supporters in the front row covering their mouths in horror.
Another next to them screamed when she saw the position Gomes’ foot was in as medics rushed on to help.
And a fourth covered her eyes because she simply could not look.
Son broke down in tears on the pitch and has been targeted with sick abuse from trolls in the wake of the incident.
In between a flurry of comments wishing him well and telling him it was not his fault, one user wrote: “You have destroyed Andre’s career. You do not deserve to play football anymore butcher, killer.”
Gomes will today have surgery on his ankle – although it is unlikely any of his Everton team-mates will be able to visit him.
Son was initially going to be given a yellow for his challenge before referee Martin Atkinson changed it to a red.
It is believed that Spurs are going to go ahead with appealing the red.
The Premier League released a statement explaining why Son was sent off.
It read: “The red card for Son was for endangering the safety of a player which happened as a consequence of his initial challenge.”
Cenk Tosun described the pain of seeing Gomes in such a state.
He said: “Everybody is so sad inside.
“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.”
