Everton defender Ben Godfrey had to be taken to hospital after being stretchered off in the early stages of his side's Premier League match against Chelsea on Saturday. The centre-back exited the field after sustaining a brutal ankle injury as he slid in to make a tackle just 10 minutes into the opening game of the season at Goodison Park.
The 24-year-old short-changed Jordan Pickford with a back pass and, despite replays showing the ball had crossed the by-line, the match continued. The Toffees goalkeeper scrambled to prevent a corner but could only find Kai Havertz in an advantageous position.
Why did Godfrey have to be stretchered off against Chelsea?
Attempting to make amends for his error, Godfrey flew into a tackle and managed to steal the ball from his opponent, conceding a corner in the process.
Clearly sensing the damage he had done, the Everton supporters in the Gwladys Street End fell silent and the player himself looked shell-shocked, immediately telling referee Craig Pawson that he needed attention.
A stretcher was soon requested by the medical team and, after a period of care on the pitch, Godfrey was replaced by Mason Holgate to an ovation from both sets of supporters.
Everton then confirmed that he suffered a lower-leg injury and was taken to hospital.
It only further adds to the injury crisis being suffered by Frank Lampard at Everton. He is already without Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Andros Townsend, Andre Gomes and Tom Davies.
What did Lampard say about Godfrey's injury?
Everton manager Frank Lampard said that the defender has a suspected fracture in his leg and expects him to be out of action for some time.
Godfrey is not the only fitness concern to come from the game as Yerry Mina also sustained an injury.
"[Godfrey's injury] feels like it is a small fracture of his leg," the coach said. "We are assessing that. He will be out for a while, Mina is an ankle injury and could be out for a while.
"When it rains, it pours."
The only Everton centre-back that played the full 90 minutes against Chelsea, James Tarkowski, was keen to remain positive about the two injuries after the match, starting with Godrey's.
He said: "Fingers crossed it’s not as serious as we hope. It didn’t look great, then losing Yerry [Mina] disjointed us. People have to slot into positions like they did today. We moved around a bit but we still played well.”
