Pascal Struijk has issued a heartfelt apology to Harvey Elliott after his tackle caused a serious injury to the Liverpool midfielder. The Leeds United defender was sent off for a tackle that left the teenager with a suspected broken ankle, which saw Elliott stretchered off at Elland Road. Struijk was sent off for the accidental injury, whilst Elliott has now been discharged from Leeds General Infirmary and will undergo surgery next week on the injury. Both sets of players were visibly shaken by the nasty injury and Struijk has now apologised for his role in the freak accident.
Pascal Strujik said: “In today’s game, something happened that I would never wish on anyone. @HarveyElliott07, my thoughts are with you. I’m gutted and never meant for this to happen. I wish you a speedy recovery and hope to see you back on the pitch soon.”
After the match, Marcelo Bielsa sent his best wishes to Elliott, whilst defending Struijk.
Marcelo Bielsa said: Pascal recovered the ball, the action to get the ball didn’t have an infraction but had the feeling that the movement of the rest of his body after he recovered the ball, made him hit Elliott. I’m totally sure that there was no bad intention. I don’t know how to qualify it because any negative qualifier would be hard to say, but obviously, there was some imprudence or an excess of power. These types of recoveries of the ball are totally frequent. The difference here was that the follow-through with Pascal’s speed and power hit the opponent and this caused an injury. I regret dearly that such a young player playing at a high level has been interrupted by this. I hope he is able to get back.”
