Henderson's World Cup likely over after freak injury celebrating England's win over Mexico

Jordan Henderson’s World Cup is in serious jeopardy after the England midfielder sustained a wrist injury celebrating the final whistle of his side’s 3-2 victory over Mexico. Henderson fell over the advertising hoardings and landed with his right arm trapped beneath him, leaving him in considerable pain before he was stretchered off and given oxygen at the stadium.

Henderson was subsequently taken to hospital in Mexico City and remained there as the rest of the England squad returned to their base in Kansas City. Mirror chief football writer John Cross, speaking on the Make Football Great Again podcast, said the injury is almost certainly tournament-ending.

“I know it’s a sort of a wrist-stroke arm injury which, you know, you probably get in plaster and what have you, but that early stage is going to be difficult for him,” Cross said. “It feels as if it’s probably going to be his World Cup over. What an absolute hammer blow, really — he’s such a good character and person and leader. I think that that’s absolutely devastating for him.”

Thomas Tuchel confirmed the severity of the situation in his post-match press conference, telling reporters: “He injured his wrist, he’s gone to hospital — it’s quite a serious injury. It doesn’t fit with the night. I don’t know if there will be a procedure.”

The injury cast a shadow over what had been a remarkable England performance. Jarell Quansah was shown a red card in the 54th minute, yet the 10-man side held on to advance to the quarter-finals. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham both scored in the victory and each paid tribute to Henderson before Tuchel’s update confirmed the extent of the problem.

Henderson had been a prominent figure in Tuchel’s preparations, put forward for the pre-match press conference as a senior voice in the squad. His absence would remove one of England’s most experienced midfield options at a critical stage of the tournament.

England face Norway in the quarter-finals on Saturday, with France meeting Morocco on the other side of the draw following wins over Paraguay and Canada respectively.