Everton: BT Sport pundit slams Leicester man Boubakary Soumare as Seamus Coleman is stretchered off
Boubakary Soumare was blasted by Lucy Ward for his “awful challenge” that saw Everton captain Seamus Coleman stretched off against Leicester.
As half-time was approaching at the King Power the Foxes midfielder plowed into the Toffees right-back whose leg buckled, and was booked for his troubles.
The effect was far worse for Coleman who remained prone on the turf and was eventually carried from the field, leading to extensive injury time, where further drama ensued as Jordan Pickford saved a James Maddison penalty, but Ward was not impressed with the incident that ended the Everton skipper’s night.
Reacting on Twitter the BT Sport pundit wrote: “Poor Seamus Coleman, ‘unhappy triad of O’Donoghue’.
“Awful challenge.”
Devastating
It surely wasn’t deliberate but it was a reckless challenge that saw Coleman take the full force of Soumare’s momentum.
The Frenchman was perhaps fortunate to only see yellow from Michael Oliver, although it may have been as much the way the Irish full-back’s leg was planted that caused the damage.
Having only just returned to the line up after his last injury it was a nightmare incident that looks like it may have ended Coleman’s season.
He has been a vital leader under Sean Dyche and his absence has been evident in recent weeks, so it is yet another challenge for this embattled squad to overcome as they seek to avoid relegation against the odds.
The injury came at a point on the night where Everton looked to be imploding in horribly familiar fashion, having already surrendered their early lead, coming just moments after Dominic Calvert-Lewin had missed a sitter and Jamie Vardy had almost extended their advantage.
There was a fight back to come after the break as Alex Iwobi improved on an poor first half to score an equaliser, but a game that looked like leading to a huge win early on only registered a point and left the Toffees in the drop zone while counting the costs of potentially losing Coleman for the run in.