By Alex Beard

29th Feb, 2020 | 3:30pm

Everton ace Andre Gomes recalls 'punching' ex Premier League midfielder

The sight of Everton midfielder Andre Gomes clutching his leg after a horror tackle from Son Heung-min in November is a defining image of this season.

The Tottenham Hotspur star has a reputation as one of football’s good guys, but on this occasion he was very much the villain.

He obviously didn’t intend to injure Gomes in any, way shape or form, but his challenge was a massively cynical one.

The Portugal international suffered a big blow on that day, but has bounced back in fine fashion and made his return against Arsenal last weekend.

Now, the 26-year-old has been speaking about his traumatic time of things in that fateful game against Spurs.

“I remember Cenk [Tosun], Lucas [Digne] and Richarlison were close by as well,” he told The Times [Sport pullout [29/02; pg. 8].

“Luis Boa Morte [former assistant manager] was next to me and I punched him at that moment.

“It was harder mentally than physically.”

What a comeback, eh?

It really has been remarkable to witness. Gomes’ season looked dead and buried when he was writhing on the floor after Son’s challenge.

He’s shown incredible mental fortitude and physical resilience over the past few months, and it’s great to have him back.

Him punching Boa Morte is a funny little aside, although many Toffees fans would probably have rather he’d given Marco Silva a jab-cross instead.

You don’t really know what you’re doing in that situation, though, and it’s just fantastic to have the former Barcelona man back in the first team picture.

In other Everton news, BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson has delivered his prediction for the team’s clash with Manchester United.