Jarrod Bowen feared he broke his ankle due to shocking pitch just minutes after coming on for England
06/22/2024 03:13 PM
Jarrod Bowen says he was worried he broke his ankle when he came off the bench for England against Denmark.
Pitch conditions at the Deutsche Bank Park for the Euro 2024 Group C clash on Thursday, which finished 1-1, came under the spotlight.
Large lumps of turf came up during play, with England defender Kyle Walker in particular losing his footing early on in the match.
There is a chance that the closing of the stadium roof as a result of bad weather conditions could have affected the pitch.
Bowen replaced Phil Foden in the 69th minute and has now revealed he suffered an injury scare just moments after coming on.
“I thought I broke my ankle in the first two minutes when I came on,” he said in a press conference on Saturday.
“It was definitely difficult, it’s not an excuse in the slightest but it was something that… I think Walks [Walker] had a couple [moments] in the first ten minutes where you could see the chunks of ground coming up.
“A bit like bad divots if you hit a bad golf shot, it was a bit like that, so yeah it was difficult and I think the roof was closed as well because of the weather which made it a lot more hotter in there as well.
“But those are the things that get forced to you sometimes, you play the conditions of the pitches.
“It was still a great stadium, a great pitch, just the other day it was probably cutting up a little bit more than what we’ve probably experienced from the first game before that. But I wouldn’t want to use that as an excuse for the game.”
Fanzones across Dortmund, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen were also closed due to the weather conditions the day before.
There was even a potential ‘risk to life’ according to meteorologist Dominik Jung, with closures therefore made to protect fans.
Bowen’s appearance was his second as a substitute for England after playing the final 14 minutes of the 1-1 draw against Serbia.
Gareth Southgate’s side face Slovenia in their final Group C clash on Tuesday, live on talkSPORT, as they look to finish top of the table.
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