An emotional Andre Gomes has offered his thanks after receiving letters of support following his horrific leg break earlier this season.
Gomes was playing against Tottenham on November 3 when he was challenged by forward Son Heung-min before colliding with Serge Aurier after the initial impact.
He was noticeably distressed and had to be taken off the pitch on a stretcher while receiving oxygen. It later became clear that he had broken his ankle in the collision.
Gomes had surgery on the ankle at Aintree Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
And as he continues to build back up from the injury, Everton sat the 26-year-old down and showed him some of the support he had received from across the world in the form of letters and emails.
Gomes decided to read through a few of the letters and said: ‘Hey guys. I received a lot of letters and emails and I would like to thank you all for your kind support. It means a lot for me. It will make this easier.’
Picking one up, he read: ‘I have one here from Oliver, it says, “Dear Andre, I hope you get well soon. I can’t wait for you to come back and score lots of goals.”
‘It’s like a young kid. It means a lot, especially from a young lad, an Evertonian.’
Contact also came from fans of Everton’s biggest rivals: ‘From Regan, “I’m a Liverpool fan but I hope you get better soon.”
‘We know sometimes how hard it is for a football fan, from other team’s support, it doesn’t matter the colour – thank you Regan for your support.’
And the Portuguese midfielder even managed to see the funny side of one: ‘I have some emails as well.
‘”Hi Andre, I was watching the game against Spurs on television and I was so disappointed to see you get injured that I kicked my table and broke my toe. Best wishes, from Ben.”
‘This is a weird one, I honestly feel bad for you Ben. I didn’t want that to happen to you! Hope you get well soon. I would wish nothing like this would happen to both of us, thanks for your message and support and I give you the best wishes as well.’
A visibly emotional Gomes then offered his thanks for those who had supported him with the letters.
He said: ‘I have a lot of letters here, I will try to take my time at home just to read everything.
‘Honestly guys, it’s almost impossible. I feel sensitive and emotional with what you are doing with me.
‘I just need to thank you all. It’s just emotion… wow. I’ll be back stronger for sure and I want to help the team reach the goals we set at the beginning of the season. And just, once again, thank you for everything.’
