The Daily Mail is claiming that Jarrad Branthwaite’s season is over and his World Cup hopes have been dashed after a scan revealed the extent of his hamstring injury.
Everton’s brilliant young defender was shoved off the field and fell awkwardly onto the pitchside track in yet another blatant foul by a Liverpool player that of course went unpunished near the end of normal time in Sunday’s derby game.
Perhaps he tried to recover his position too quickly and with too much effort to get back on the pitch but it was obvious when he grasped his thigh and grimaced in pain that the worst possible scenario was indeed playing out before 49,000 Evertonians inside the Hill Dickinson Stadium. After a long delay for assessment on the pitch, the clearly distraught Branthwaite was stretched off before the game resumed.
It is claimed that the problem is not as bad as first feared, but it seems certain that Branthwaite is facing at least 2 months on the sidelines with the hope that he will have recovered sufficiently to play a full part in pre-season training from July onwards.