Few people will say that Dutch defensive midfielder, Nigel De Jong, is nice…or fair. The hard man has always been known for throwing in the occasional nasty challenge, but he took things a little far with one on Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe.
His victim left Sunday’s draw between his side and LA Galaxy in a wheelchair after suffering an ankle injury following a tackle from Nigel de Jong.
In the 73rd minute, the Dutchman, who the Galaxy added in the off-season, came over the ball and made contact with the United States international with his studs. Nagbe went to the ground and had to be helped off the field and eventually left on a wheelchair.
De Jong later apologized saying “I just [caught] up with him and said that it was my never my intention, it was a 50-50 and I went over the ball instead of on the ball,” De Jong said. “I [caught] the ball a little bit, but also his ankle unfortunately. I hope it’s not too bad. It’s a young kid, great player. What I said before, that’s football. Sometimes you get in too hard or too soft, but, what I said before, it was my never intention. He accepted that, and it’s all good.”
Check out the vine and photos below
https://vine.co/v/iTrvAtxxE73
The Timbers were quite unhappy about the tackle and spoke about it on social media. This drew a response from LA Galaxy. You can see the pic below
