England midfielder Jordan Henderson was taken to hospital after suffering a “really bad” wrist injury while celebrating his side’s dramatic 3-2 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 victory over co-hosts Mexico, head coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed on Monday.
Henderson, who did not feature in the match, appeared to land awkwardly after falling from the advertising hoardings during the post-match celebrations. The 36-year-old was stretchered off the pitch before being taken to hospital for further assessment.
“Jordan Henderson just fell over and injured his wrist. It looks really bad,” Tuchel told BBC One after the match. “It’s quite a serious injury, and it doesn’t fit with the evening that Jordan is now not with us. The doctor told me he is in hospital.”
Despite the worrying injury to the experienced midfielder, Tuchel was full of praise for his players after England survived a pulsating contest with 10 men to book their place in the quarterfinals.
England were reduced to 10 players in the 54th minute after defender Jarell Quansah was shown a red card, but held firm to secure a memorable victory.
“I am very proud,” Tuchel said. “We needed everything. It was super difficult. In the moments we thought we could catch the momentum, we had setbacks. That is proper mentality. This team really mean it. When the going gets tough, they never give up. They never lose belief. It was one step more.”
“We need to take this in. This is the Azteca, it’s Mexico, a crazy game. We left everything out there, every single one of us. Now it’s full steam ahead. If a team has heart and belief, it’s on pure will. I have no words. It was an iconic match in an iconic stadium, and we overcame so much adversity today,” he added.
England will now face Norway in the quarterfinals after the Scandinavian side stunned five-time champions Brazil 2-1 to reach the last eight for the first time.
The two nations have met 12 times since their first encounter in 1937. England won each of the first four meetings, played between 1937 and 1966, by an aggregate score of 20-2 and will now look to continue that dominance with a place in the World Cup semifinals at stake.