Besiktas players were left in tears after Everton striker Cenk Tosun urged them to bring the Super Lig title home for him after he was ruled out through injury.
Tosun is facing the prospect of up to six months on the sidelines after rupturing a tendon in his right knee earlier this week.
The injury has brought a premature end to his season and loan at Besiktas, where he has been on loan from Everton since the end of January.
It is the second serious knee injury Tosun has suffered in recent years after he suffered a similar while on loan at Crystal Palace last year.
Fanatik cover the impact of his latest injury today and explain that after being taken off the pitch on a stretcher with a dislocated knee in the 75th minute, Tosun was initially treated in the dressing room.
He was then flown to Istanbul alongside his teammates, a flight that is described as having ‘not joy but sadness’ due to Tosun’s injury.
During the two hour flight, the technical team and managers, especially the players, ‘tried to give morale to Cenk’ with two of his friends, Necip and Oğuzhan, not leaving his side for the entirety of the journey.
Their efforts appear to have been in vain, though, with both Tosun and his teammates unable to ‘hold back the tears’, particularly after he told them “I want a championship from you in my absence.”
It’s also explained that Tosun underwent surgery on the patellar tendon in his right knee in Istanbul this morning, with the recovery expected to last around six months.
While that and the injury is certainly bad news, Tosun has been given something to hold onto by Besiktas president Ahmet Nur Çebi, who has insisted there will always be a place for the Everton man.
“Cenk Tosun has not recovered yet. The issue is not only a knee injury; he is also psychologically affected,” he said.
“He feels depressed. We tried to give him morale. He will try to recover him as soon as possible.
“Cenk Tosun is our child, even if it is for rent. This door is open to him at any time, whenever he wants. I think this will be enough morale for him.”
