Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Ian Doyle

Jordan Henderson shows true colours as moment spotted with concussed former Liverpool team-mate Neco Williams

Jordan Henderson was reunited with several former Liverpool colleagues when helping England cruise into the last 16 of the World Cup against Wales on Tuesday night.

And it was his quick thinking that saw one of them substituted for the sake of their own health.

Ex-Reds man Neco Williams, who joined Nottingham Forest in the summer, was making his third start in the tournament in the Group B decider at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar.

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Liverpool Academy boosted by Jurgen Klopp decision as response to Julian Ward exit clear

READ MORE: Inside FSG's £240m Anfield plan as naming rights deal could hand new owners major boost

The 21-year-old right-back required lengthy treatment early in the game when he was caught on the top of the head by a powerful Marcus Rashford free-kick, after which he was given the all clear to continue playing.

Shortly afterwards, Henderson fouled Williams in attempting to win the ball and fell on top of his former colleague in the process. However, the Liverpool skipper then noted something wasn't quite right with his opponent and checked on him, then embraced Williams before looking concerningly towards the Wales bench. Williams was substituted moments later with concussion.

That the defender had initially been allowed to continue has again sparked debate over how football deals with head injuries during the course of a game.

Williams had spoken during his time at Liverpool of the influence Henderson had on his development "I'm training with some of the best players in the world every day and that is 100% going to develop and mature me as a player," he said.

"I'm always getting advice from older and senior players like Jordan Henderson and James Milner. I do speak to them quite regularly to get good advice in terms of football but also outside of football, just general advice."

Along with Williams, Henderson also came up against former Liverpool trio Danny Ward, Joe Allen and Harry Wilson during Tuesday's match, which England won 3-0 to eliminate Wales from the competition and set up a last 16 clash with Senegal on Sunday.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.