In the 31st round of the league, just about 10 minutes into the game, a sudden change occurred on the field.
"Quick, Gareth, go warm up!" George Li immediately said to Bell who was chilling.
After saying that, he immediately looked towards the field. The Leeds United players wearing blue jerseys today gathered around the sideline and watched a Leeds United player fall to the ground and roll around holding his ankle.
Because it was close to the other side, George Li didn't know the specific situation of Lee Bowyer yet.
But just now, Leeds United's Bowyer took the ball on the left and wanted to break through Middlesbrough's right defense. Bowyer knew his speed had faded and he wasn't originally an explosive player. So he first pretended to pass the ball to the center with his left foot. When he saw the center of gravity of Pogatz on the opposite side, he immediately moved the ball to the left with his left foot. Then he spiked the ball again with the inside of his right foot and smashed the ball over. Middlesbrough's right back came up on defense.
It was such a wonderful "croquette" action that was just about to detonate the small group of away Leeds United fans sitting in the corner.
"call......"
The fans had just been surprised by this wonderful passing action and were about to stand up to cheer for their players.
With the defense out of position, Pogatz hurriedly tried to prevent Bowyer's breakthrough. As a result, he made a mistake and stepped on the ankle of the opponent's foot that was left behind.
"ah!"
Bowyer was in pain, all his movements stopped, and then fell to the ground.
Everyone present heard Bowyer's screams or saw Bowyer falling to the ground and ran over, including Middlesbrough players nearby who came to check on the situation. Many of them saw Pogatz's kick. Bowyer's ankle was almost deformed by the step. Some timid players even secretly turned away after the referee stopped the game, not daring to watch anymore.
"Stretcher! Stretcher!" Although the team doctor on the sidelines was already running to the court, the nearby players were already shouting that the stretcher was coming.
George Li stood on the sideline with both feet, constantly worrying about his players on the field. Behind him, Leeds United coaches and substitutes lined up to pray for Bowyer.
Although Bowyer was a bit unruly at Leeds United at the beginning, he even hit fans outside the field, and even fought with his teammates during games after moving to other clubs. However, the first Leeds United players either left or retired, leaving only Woodgate and Smith as former teammates. The other players all joined later and had no previous contact with Bowyer.
Bowyer, who returned to Leeds United, is no longer the same Bowyer who got into trouble all day long. He is now very serious about doing what a professional player should do. He never misses or slacks off in training, and he works diligently in games. When he comes on the court, he plays according to the coach's tactics. When he doesn't come on, he waits off the court. He also uses his free time in training to guide young players.
In short, you will never see the shadow of the "bad boy" in him again, even though he still likes to go to nightclubs and bars.
Recently, Bowyer is also preparing to sign up for coaching training, and he is already preparing for the rest of his retirement life.
This is such a player, and now he is rolling off the court holding his ankle.
After the team doctor checked, Bowyer was immediately put on a stretcher and then taken off the field.
Leeds United made a substitution immediately. Bell, who originally had a bye in this game, came on the line to fill the vacancy left by Bowyer's departure on the left.
On the sidelines, George Lee was still watching the game that had just resumed with his hands folded. Pogatz had just been shown a yellow card by the referee for that foul. The referee was quite merciful and did not leave Middlesbrough with one less player to face in the first 10 minutes. But the referee's meaning is also very obvious, that is, if you Pogatz makes another big move, he will definitely let you sit down with the second topaz card.
Although the game was still going on, George Li's heart flew to Bowyer. Colin McGee and Gary Kelly had already gone over to check on the situation.
Soon after, McGee ran back to the coaching bench and shook his head at George Lee, who had been waiting for a long time.
"How long will it hurt?"
"I guess it's not going to work. I won't be able to compete with heavy exercise after recovery." McGee is also relatively authoritative now. Combined with the general conclusion given by the team doctor just now, he directly pronounced a "death sentence" on Bowyer's subsequent sports career.
"Depend on!"
George Li turned around angrily and shouted, almost scaring Robben who was closer to the court.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck..."
After venting fiercely, George Li changed his mind and signaled Kelly, who had just returned, to accompany Bowyer to the hospital for treatment.
"Is there really no other way?"
"This injury will last for at least half a year. After recovering, his foot will also be affected. My suggestion is that he may need to retire."
"Then..."
George Li wanted to say something else, but he heard a burst of exclamation from the Middlesbrough fans in the stands behind him.
There was also a small group of cheers.
He quickly turned his head and saw the Leeds United players on the field celebrating a goal.
Because I was not paying attention while chatting with McGee and Kelly, when I turned around, a goal had already been scored.
It should be Pedersen who scored the goal. After all, he was the one running at the front, with the other Leeds United players behind him.
George Li looked up at the big screen, waiting for the replay to see clearly how the goal was scored.
The initiator of the goal was Baines. He used his forward penetration to find a way out on the wing and then passed the ball to Bell who was connecting in the corner of the penalty area. Bell faced Pogatz, who was already carrying a yellow card. It's a matter of discretion, because the opponent's defense is already timid and only knows how to retreat.
But there are advantages to retreating, that is, he can block Bell's path forward, so Bell cannot shoot in front of Pogatz. He can only choose to go to Pedersen in the middle because Bowyer is injured.
The Norwegian did not wait for the ball to stop and directly faced the ball with a long shot with his left foot. The shot hit Middlesbrough center back Taylor and changed direction.
Before the opponent's goalkeeper could react, the ball changed from flying to the left to flying to the right.
1 to 0.
However, this goal did not make Lee George happy. Even if he knew that the right back of Middlesbrough was an obvious weakness, even if Leeds United scored 10 goals from this breakthrough, it could not undo the impact of Leeds United losing Bowyer.
"Keep watching this right back." George Lee pulled over the players on the Leeds United field and asked him to pass his request to the players on the field.
"Okay, boss." After hearing this, Blake hurriedly informed his teammates one by one.
In the subsequent games, Leeds United's Baines, Bell, Pedersen, and even forward Kuyt all focused on attacking in the direction of Middlesbrough.
At halftime, Leeds United entered the tunnel with a score of 3-0. Although they were ahead, there were no smiles on the players' faces. They already knew the situation of their teammates, and they were about to lose a teammate they had struggled with together.
