Gareth Southgate is relieved that he’s the one who suffered an injury, rather than his players.
Southgate has revealed that he dislocated his right shoulder while jogging on Wednesday afternoon, meaning he will not be able to celebrate England goals with as much vigour as his reaction to Harry Kane’s late winner over Tunisia on Monday night.
The England manager punched the air after Kane headed the Three Lions to a much-needed three points in Group G but his celebrations will be much more subdued for any future goals in the World Cup.
“I might not be celebrating any goals as athletically in future!” Southgate said
“The doc has made it clear that punching the air is not an option.
“We have got such a great support team and they were there very quickly. They were supposed to be relaxing because we let the players have a bit of time off and I am causing them work.
“We are lucky we have a top-class medical team around us, so it was fine. I had brilliant help from them, and I am just sorry that I managed to ruin their day off.”
Southgate was initially treated by team doctor Rob Chakraverty before coming to the realisation that he had to visit a nearby hospital.
And while it’s not ideal for the 47-year-old, Southgate is just pleased that one of his star players didn’t suffer the injury.
“It is better this is me than one of the players,” the England manager added.
“They were a bit surprised in the team meeting and were asking ‘what have you been doing!?’ – as always, they were probably quite amused.
“It is good that we have had a quiet day today so I had prepared the meeting before and we are on to preparations for Panama.
“I am just a bit gutted because I was on for my record 10k time!”
Given the drama that followed Sergio Ramos’ infamous tussle with Mohamed Salah in the build-up to the World Cup, the same joke predictably did the rounds after the FA confirmed Southgate’s injury.
"It is better me than one of the players!"#threelions https://t.co/HajfTAuKKb
— England (@England) June 20, 2018
Was Sergio Ramos spotted in the vicinity?
— Andy Stevenson (@AndyStevenson81) June 20, 2018
Was Sergio Ramos spotted in the England base. Lol.
— James ?? (@FredSZN) June 20, 2018
Was it Sergio Ramos again?
— ! (@ThibautSave) June 20, 2018
Did Sergio Ramos do it?
— Kyle Thornton (@Kyle_thornton23) June 20, 2018
tf Ramos was doing at the England base
— ٣٨٦٤ (@yfn_wale) June 20, 2018
Must have bumped into Sergio Ramos around town
— michael (@granvillepoet) June 20, 2018
I bet Ramos did that too #Southgate #WorldCup
— Nigel Keelson-Anfu (@MrKeelson) June 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/ChaosEmerald85/status/1009503580896841746
Heard Gareth southgate dislocated his shoulder while out jogging today must of been running with Ramos then.
— Sting Ray (@Sting_Ray007) June 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/TechRubber/status/1009503263530606592
https://twitter.com/KarlMoylan/status/1009502655503355910
