England have left Jordan Henderson in Mexico City to recover from the seemingly serious wrist injury he suffered after the triumphant victory at the Azteca Stadium.
Video footage showed the Brentford captain, who was unused substitute on the night, tumbling over an advertising hoarding after the Three Lions weathered a late Mexico onslaught to book their place in the quarter-finals.
He appeared to land on his wrist and was later stretchered off and taken to hospital with what Thomas Tuchel described as a ‘really bad’ injury.
Henderson has now stayed in Mexico after the rest of his teammates returned to their plush hotel in Kansas City this morning, though it’s unclear exactly what injury he suffered.
Tuchel said last night of the former Liverpool captain’s tumble: ‘Not good, not good. Jordan just felt over and injured his wrist. It looks really bad.’
Henderson’s teammates formed a protective circle around him as he received medical care and was put on gas and air while being stretchered off the pitch.
Jordan Henderson suffered what appeared to be a horrific injury after England’s victory over Mexico
The 36-year-old has played just six minutes of this World Cup, yet managed to pick up a yellow card against the Mexicans despite not coming onto the pitch.
Captain Harry Kane told the BBC: ‘Jordan just fell over there, I think he’s OK, just something to do with his arm.’ Jude Bellingham added: ‘He’s in a bit of bother, but our medical team have got everything under control.
‘It’s probably best not to say too much when I don’t really know what was going on. But everyone was there to support him, and even that was a beautiful thing to see.’
Henderson was a controversial choice for Tuchel to take to this World Cup, in a move that looked to be mainly due to his off-the-field influence and leadership rather than on-the-pitch performance.
Bellingham and team-mate Morgan Rogers defended their team-mate but that move was then called out as a ‘PR job’ by the Football Association by former England captain John Terry.
Speaking on the Lions Den podcast, Bellingham said: ‘Don’t get us started on Hendo, we could talk about him for hours.
‘He’s so funny, the funniest guy in camp. He gets everyone laughing, and he gets everyone together.’
Appearing on Piers Morgan Uncensored, former Chelsea defender Terry was unconvinced. He said: ‘I don’t think it’s for them to talk about, but I felt like the FA were kind of addressing something that everyone’s been talking about.
‘It was a bit weird.’
Jude Bellingham scored twice to help England to a 3-2 win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium
After weathering an early storm at the Azteca, which sits more than 2,000ft above sea level, the Three Lions went two-up thanks to a Jude Bellingham double inside the space of a couple of minutes.
The Real Madrid star, first, nodded home a Bukayo Saka cross before bundling another cross over the line just moments later.
But, from there, the Mexicans hit back. When Julian Quinones lashed home on the brink of half-time it appeared as though England may squander their lead.
However, after Jarell Quansah was sent off for a reckless challenge, Harry Kane later stepped up from the penalty spot to put Thomas Tuchel’s men 3-1 up. Raul Jimenez hit back with a penalty of his own, but England ultimately held on for a historic victory.
England will now face Erling Haaland’s Norway in Miami on Saturday night, after the Vikings knocked out Brazil.
Tuchel said after the game: ‘A heroic performance and a heroic result. I’m so happy with the players, and also for me, to live this experience in the last two days. Such a special memory, and against all the adversity it makes it very special for us.
‘If a team has heart and belief then it’s this team. They did it on pure will. No words. Iconic match, iconic stadium, we overcame so much adversity today.’
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