Anthony Gordon withdraws from England with ‘worrying’ hip injury

Horrible turn of events.

Anthony Gordon has pulled out of the England squad and returned to Newcastle United after sustaining a hip injury in Friday’s World Cup qualifying win over Albania.

The winger, who came on as a late substitute in the 2-0 victory at Wembley, appeared in discomfort towards the end of the match and was seen heading down the tunnel after treatment.

Following the game, England manager Thomas Tuchel offered a much worse update than we would have loved to hear from him.

“He looks injured,” Tuchel said. “First of all I thought it’s his stomach, but it’s his hip and it does not look good. It’s a bit worrying, yeah.”

Gordon underwent a scan on Saturday before being released from England’s camp. A statement from the national team confirmed his withdrawal.

“Anthony Gordon has withdrawn from Three Lions camp having sustained an injury during Friday night’s 2-0 win over Albania,” the statement said. “The forward has returned to Newcastle United for further assessment.”

The 24-year-old has been a key figure for Newcastle this season with nine goals and six assists across 34 appearances. Gordon’s return to Tyneside—but not to the pitch any time soon, judging by Tuchel’s words—comes as a fresh concern for Eddie Howe, who is already managing a growing injury list and couldn’t count on Gordon for the last three games as he navigated a suspension following a red-card offense.

Friday’s match marked Gordon’s 10th cap for England, but he will now miss Monday’s qualifier against Latvia and most probably a few games back with Newcastle.

There is no immediate update on the extent of the injury or how long he could be sidelined, with Newcastle set to carry out further evaluations in the coming days but nothing good expected to come out of those tests.

Newcastle United have held another high-level board meeting to discuss next weekend’s Carabao Cup trophy parade. There remains hope that an open top bus parade can be arranged.

ChronicleLive understands that the club’s initial preference was always to hold an open top bus parade but the final decision is yet to be made by Northumbria Police and Newcastle City Council. It is believed that Northumbria have cancelled all leave next Saturday when the Town Moor event is set to be staged.

Concerns over a parade clashing with a busy shopping afternoon are understood to have been raised, hence the lack of announcement. A bus parade was popular in 1993 when the club won promotion and even in 1998 and 1999 after FA Cup final defeats at Wembley when the trophy-less team greeted fans regardless through the streets.