“In all of my naivety, I apologised to him, but it was totally unintentional. I didn’t want it to happen and didn’t think it would ever happen.”
Salomon Rondon still cries when he thinks about breaking James McCarthy’s leg.
McCarthy broke his leg in January under an awkward challenge from Rondon and missed the remainder of the 2017/18 season.
As the Everton midfielder nicked the ball away from Rondon during a Premier League game between the Toffees and West Bromwich Albion, the Venezuelan forward accidentally kicked the back of McCarthy’s calf and the Irish international immediately fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
Doctors rushed to the pitch to tend to the Glasgow-born player, who has only recently returned to the Everton first team.
It took significant rehabilitation for McCarthy to return to fitness while the incident also affected Rondon, who cried on the pitch and had to be consoled by then-manager Alan Pardew.
10 months on and Rondon, who is currently on loan at Newcastle, still can’t help but get emotional when he remembers that game at Goodison Park.
“Life played me a bad turn because I was the one who experienced it,” Rondon said before breaking down in tears during an interview with TV station Telemundo.
“I’m crying because, apart from the fact that he’s a fellow professional, it was an injury that I actually felt when it happened. I’ll never forget it – it was tough.
“Thanks to God, I didn’t need the help of a psychologist because my family were there for me, but it’s something that I never wanted to experience.
