Anthony Gordon was battered and bruised as he took England training on Thursday. The Newcastle United winger reportedly fell off a push bike at the Three Lions’ training base near Erfurt earlier this week.
Gareth Southgate’s squad have been riding bikes around their training complex during the tournament to help with recovery. On Wednesday’s ride, according to BBC Sport, the unfortunate Gordon took a fall.
While he may have preferred to keep the incident under wraps, photos of Gordon training with a badly-grazed chin and marks on his hands and wrists gave the game away. It is not thought that the wounds will harm his chances of making it into England’s starting XI against Slovakia on Sunday.
Many England fans wanted Gordon to land the left-wing starting berth at Euro 2024. But he was given no minutes whatsoever by Southgate until a brief cameo in the goalless draw with Slovenia last time out.
He was so effective in those few minutes, and England have been so disappointing offensively in this tournament, that Gordon has thrust himself into contention to bank more significant game time in the last 16.
On Gordon’s lack of action, former Premier League midfielder Jamie O’Hara told Grosvenor Sport: “In three games, Gareth Southgate has only given Anthony Gordon two minutes off the bench.
“He was Newcastle’s best player last season and probably the best left-winger in the country. But he has been given two minutes! Gordon must be thinking, ‘Are you winding me up?’.
“I thought he did well when he came on against Slovenia. He got two minutes plus injury time and he actually made something happen. It comes to something when the best left-winger in the country has only managed to be on the pitch for a total of six minutes across three games.”
The Premier League’s Player of the Year, Phil Foden, has been moved from his favoured No.10 role to Gordon’s preferred left wing position in order to accommodate Jude Bellingham in attacking midfield.
After a narrow win over Serbia and back-to-back draws with Denmark and Slovenia in the group stages, supporters are calling for Southgate to shake up the side. Gordon excelled during his debut season at St James’ Park in 2023/24, posting 11 goals and 10 assists in 35 Premier League games.
