Roberto Martinez set for anxious wait after Everton midfielder Darren Gibson forced off during Republic of Ireland win over Kazakhstan

Gibson suffered a nasty knee injury in the World Cup qualifier having only returned to international matches on Friday

Damian Spellman
Wednesday 16 October 2013 14:51 BST
Comments
Darren Gibson was carried off during Republic of Ireland's victory over Kazakhstan
Darren Gibson was carried off during Republic of Ireland's victory over Kazakhstan (GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Everton boss Roberto Martinez is anxiously awaiting news of midfielder Darron Gibson after seeing him carried from the pitch on a stretcher.

The Spaniard was at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Tuesday night as the Republic of Ireland international collapsed in a heap after making a first-half challenge in his country's 3-1 World Cup qualifier victory over Kazakhstan.

Gibson was treated on the pitch for several minutes before being carried off by medics with his right knee heavily bandaged.

Interim Ireland manager Noel King later admitted the extent of the damage was not yet clear.

King said after the game: "I'm not sure. They have to review and check everything, but it wasn't nice."

However, the Football Association of Ireland had earlier confirmed that the 25-year-old would be assessed by Everton's medical staff following his return to Merseyside.

In a statement released via its Twitter account, the FAI said: "Darron Gibson has been assessed by our team doc and will return to his club tomorrow for a scan with suspected knee ligament damage."

Gibson missed the start of the season with a knee problem and any extended absence would come as a huge blow to the Toffees after their positive start to the campaign.

Ironically, he had only just returned to international action after making himself unavailable for Ireland following former boss Giovanni Trapattoni's decision to leave him sitting on the bench for the Republic's entire Euro 2012 finals campaign.

He had indicated his intention to end his self-imposed exile in the wake of Trapattoni's departure last month and was duly called up by King for the final two qualifiers against Germany and the Kazakhs.

He played the full 90 minutes in Cologne on Friday night as Ireland went down 3-0 to the Germans, but managed only 35 minutes at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday before disaster struck.

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in