Pundit and former player Lee Hendrie has slammed James Tarkowski for his ‘horrible’ foul on Newcastle United winger Ryan Fraser.
In their most recent Premier League outing, the Magpies hosted Everton at St James’ Park in what turned out to be a rather tight match settled by just a single goal.
Indeed, Miguel Almiron’s fabulous long-distance strike was enough to see Eddie Howe and co pick up all three points in front of their own fans in a 1-0 win.
Late on in the game, however, the Toffees were lucky not to see Tarkowski sent off for a late challenge on Fraser that left the Scotland international in ‘agony’.
On the live commentary for Sky Sports’ match coverage, Hendrie condemned the tackle, saying: “I thought it was going to be a red card then. He’s in agony. It’s horrible. That could have easily been a red card. Tarkowski has gone down his calf. It was late.”
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On the same Sky Sports’ coverage, that incident was also described as a show of ‘frustration’ from Frank Lampard’s men, with the ‘nasty’ challenge proving an audible scream from Fraser.
In the end, the winger was able to finish the game – having only come on in the 73rd minute for match-winner Almiron – and so it seems as though he has avoided anything too serious with regard to the poor tackle.
Considering his past injury history, which has seen him miss many games in various spells on the sidelines during his time with the Magpies, it would have been a relief to see Fraser ultimately fine.