England winger Gordon escapes serious injury from bike accident during downtime at Euro 2024

BLANKENHAIN, Germany (AP) — It was supposed to be the perfect opportunity for a nice photograph to send back to the family.

Instead, it turned into what could have been a tournament-ending accident for England winger Anthony Gordon at the European Championship.

Gordon showed up for an England news conference on Friday sporting a big, nasty-looking graze on his chin and cuts on his nose, fingers and arms after falling off his bike during some downtime with other players from the England team on Wednesday.

”(It was) meant to be a recovery bike ride,” the Newcastle player said, “and I was going down the hill and tried to take a picture for my family and before I knew it I was face first into the floor. It’s only a few cuts, it’s not anything painful.”

Gordon appears to have escaped any lasting injuries but he said it “stung” when he received treatment on his return to the team’s camp at Blankenhain in Germany.

“Electric is a lot faster than normal bikes,” he said. “The front brake is on the left-hand side and I tried to press the right one to slow down and it didn’t slow down — it came to a full stop and I’ve gone 10 feet in the air, chin-first.”

Gordon made his first appearance at Euro 2004 on Tuesday as a late substitute in the 0-0 draw against Slovenia.

England plays Slovakia in the round of 16 on Sunday.

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AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

The Associated Press