Speaking on the Where’s Jeff? Podcast, Phil Thompson has been giving his verdict on the incident that saw Harvey Elliott left seriously injured against Leeds last weekend.
Elliott dislocated his ankle at Elland Road after a tackle from Pascal Struijk, and the centre-back was sent off for his challenge on the teenager.
The tackle proved to be very controversial, with many, including Elliott himself, stating that it shouldn’t have been a red card.
Thompson has echoed that sentiment, claiming that he felt for Struijk after he was sent off.
What’s been said?
Thompson gave his view on the incident.
“You could look at his tackle and say it endangered the player, but I don’t think there was enough in it. If he got a yellow card I thought that’d be ok. I’m not trying to belittle the injury, but you look at it and think how I’d view it if my team was on the receiving end, and that would be my honest opinion on the situation, and I felt for the Leeds lad, he didn’t intend to injure Harvey,” Thompson said.
Awful situation
This is an all-around awful situation for everyone involved.
Struijk didn’t mean to harm Elliott, and we can only imagine how guilty he must have felt in the aftermath of the injury.
Challenges like this can really affect a player. Just look at how cut-up Ryan Shawcross was when he injured Aaron Ramsey all those years ago, and he was arguably never the same player again.
Luckily, Elliott has tried his best to reassure Struijk that the injury wasn’t his fault, and we can only hope that the defender is able to get over this incident.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
