[ad_pod ]
Marco Silva watched his Toffees side take the gauntlet to Chelsea on Sunday and left Stamford Bridge with a point shared, but the true issue came from the injury sustained by Gylfi Sigurdsson.
What did he say?
Sigurdsson managed to play out 76 minutes before time was called and Phil Jagielka came on as a substitute with the game still in a deadlock. Images later emerged in The Sun of the Icelandic international leaving the stadium with his right foot encased in a protective boot.
The cause was a rash tackle from Maurizio Sarri’s marquee signing at Chelsea, Jorginho, who drove into a tackle on the Toffees talisman with both feet and could arguably have seen red.
Studs were raised and the ball was long gone by the time contact was made, something Everton manager Silva wanted to raise issue with in his post-match press conference.
“Did you see the Jorginho tackle? What did you think?” The Independent reported the coach as asking the assembled press.
“I hope we don’t lose Sigurdsson for the next matches after the Jorginho tackle. It’s the international break but I don’t even think he’s in condition to play in those matches.”
What does it mean?
Silva’s words show clear discontent with the tackle Jorginho levelled into his creator, evidently unhappy that his 29-year-old, who earns £120,000-a-week according to Spotrac, may now be ruled out of action beyond the break.
Sigurdsson had already been called up for Iceland’s fixtures against Belgium and Qatar but had to withdraw on the back of Saturday’s clash.
The Portuguese coach’s comments also suggest he is in the camp questioning how the Italian did not see red for a challenge he was destined not to win.
What now?
Everton now face a nervous wait to see whether Sigurdsson has a serious injury or not, seeing as he has become such a key player – and perhaps one they can’t do without – in recent months.
Keeping the Icelandic international at their training ground will prove beneficial, though, as had he travelled and risked featuring for his country, the injury could have deteriorated before the full extent was revealed.
No further action can be taken over Jorginho for his part in the affair, but the incident will prove a focal point when the two sides next meet on March 16.
