Eddie Howe spotted different Anthony Gordon problem moments before unfortunate Newcastle injury

As Anthony Gordon stepped out on the Stamford Bridge turf, surely aware that England boss Gareth Southgate was watching on from the stands, he must have been hopeful of one final impressive display ahead of the upcoming Three Lions squad announcement this week. 36 minutes later and Gordon was hobbling down the tunnel with a painful knee issue.

Gordon’s injury seemed innocuous at the time and Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe confirmed that there was no one individual moment that sparked the problem. However, early on in the tie the winger appeared to pull up on the left flank, with the Magpies’ coaching staff opting to send a medic over to that side of the pitch to monitor the situation.

However, all didn’t seem well with Gordon on the left before his withdrawal. With Dan Burn facing one way traffic down his channel in the early stages, as Chelsea right-back Malo Gusto pressed on repeatedly, Howe and his assistant Jason Tindall seemed agitated that Gordon wasn’t offering enough cover to his Newcastle co-star.

Shortly before his withdrawal, Gordon was moved to the right wing while Miguel Almiron switched in the opposite direction. Moments later, the former Everton winger was fouled by Marc Cucurella and indicated that he needed to be replaced.

Burn’s flank was bombarded even after Gordon’s exit, with Cole Palmer moving to the right of Chelsea’s attack to try his luck against the Newcastle left-back. The Blues weren’t at their best but capitalised on some poor defending from the away side to win 3-2,

Gordon’s performances this season have him on the cusp of an England call-up but Monday’s setback may leave him ruled out of upcoming friendlies with Brazil and Belgium next week. The full diagnosis on the 23-year-old’s injury won’t arrive for a few days but the early signs don’t look good.

“I think it (Gordon’s knee pain) was quite early on in the game,” Howe told reporters at full-time. “But as I said, there was no moment where he felt an injury, just the pain was there. So we sent someone over because he didn’t look like he was moving right. And then eventually he succumbed to the injury.

“He’s in a bit of pain but it’s not looking too good. It’s early moments, we’ll wait and see. It was a huge moment to lose him, given what he has done this season. It was a psychological blow.”