0 minutes on the pitch, oxygen and stretcher: Henderson's fall sends England's defense to the emergency room.

The 87,000 voices at the Azteca Stadium had just gone hoarse.

A stretcher was carried in.

The man lying on it was on oxygen, his right wrist wrapped in bandages. Three minutes earlier, he had been celebrating with his teammates after England's 3-2 elimination of Mexico.

Jordan Henderson. 36 years old. Zero minutes played in this match. Less than ten minutes total in the entire World Cup.

Now, he was the biggest story in the stadium.

Two hours earlier, Jude Bellingham had scored two goals in 98 seconds. A header in the 36th minute, a tap-in from a cutback in the 38th. He dragged England out of the oxygen-thin altitude of 2,240 meters.

Harry Kane converted a penalty in the 60th minute, making it 3-1.

After the match, the entire team formed a circle and sang Oasis's "Wonderwall." Mexican fans had set off fireworks all night outside England's hotel before the game, with over 100 riot police stationed at the entrance.

Then Henderson went to climb over an advertising board by the pitch.

He lost his balance. Right wrist hit the ground.

The stretcher arrived. The oxygen mask was put on. As the ambulance drove out of the stadium tunnel, Kane was still telling the BBC camera that his teammate was fine.

"Hendo just fell over there. I think he's OK. Something to do with his arm."

Kane's exact words. BBC host Kelly Cates immediately followed up: "Kane says he's absolutely fine."

A few hours later, Thomas Tuchel revealed the truth after the match: a wrist injury, the player was still in the hospital, and the injury was quite serious.

The same injury, two different accounts. Kane downplayed it in the mixed zone, Tuchel disclosed the details in the press conference. Between them lay a celebration and an ambulance ride.

There were reports that surgery might be needed. Tuchel didn't confirm it outright, only stating that Henderson would stay overnight in Mexico City with the team doctor, and would not return with the squad to their base in Kansas City.

The strangest part was that this veteran hadn't even stepped on the pitch during the match. In the 8th minute of stoppage time, he received a yellow card for "interfering with an England throw-in" from the substitutes' bench.

A card before even playing. After the match, he went from celebrating to the emergency room by climbing over an advertising board.

When Tuchel recalled him to the national team last March, social media nearly exploded.

A veteran who had played half a season in Saudi Arabia and then moved to the Eredivisie—why did he deserve a World Cup spot? Tuchel's answer at the time was: "He embodies everything we are trying to build." He later called him "the glue."

A seasoned veteran who had endured four World Cups. His running heat map was clean. Did you really think he was there to pass the ball? Shouting at defenders when trailing, holding back the young players from getting carried away when leading—that was his job.

In the group stage match against Panama at the end of June, Henderson came on as a substitute in the 84th minute. The captain's armband was handed directly to him.

With that gesture, Tuchel made it clear: even if he sat at the very end of the substitutes' bench, this man was the anchor of the dressing room.

He had only stepped on the pitch for those few minutes in the entire tournament—officially 8 minutes including stoppage time, but BBC only counted the 6 minutes of regular time.

Now, the anchor had been carried off on a stretcher.

Jarrell Quansah was also out.

A sliding tackle on Jesús Gallardo in the 54th minute was deemed a serious foul after a VAR review. A straight red card, automatic suspension for the next match.

The quarter-final was in five days.

The entire team would fly to the match venue tomorrow. Henderson would stay in Mexico City. Tuchel didn't say whether surgery was needed or not.

Social media was still buzzing with the "Wonderwall" singalong at the Azteca Stadium.

Henderson's stretcher had already been wheeled into the emergency room entrance.