England's Gordon laments overuse of mobile phone after bike crash

BLANKENHAIN, Germany : England forward Anthony Gordon was recording himself on his phone while riding downhill, he said, when he went sailing over the handlebars of his electric bike in a crash that could well have ended his Euro 2024.

Gordon crashed the morning after he made his Euro debut as a late substitute in Tuesday's 0-0 draw with Slovenia.

What was meant to be a gentle recovery ride left him with a large gash on his chin, scrapes to his nose, road burn down one forearm, gashes on his knuckles that looked like he had been in a street fight, and some wounded pride.

Thankfully it was not more serious as Gordon hopes to play his way into Gareth Southgate's squad during the knockout round in Germany, starting with Sunday's last-16 match against Slovakia.

"It was a lovely day and I was going downhill. I tried to take a quick video for my family and just show them what I was doing. And then before I knew it, I was face first into the floor," Gordon told reporters at Friday's press conference at England's training base.

"I had tried to press the (hand brake) to slow and then next minute, it's not slowed down, it's fully come to a stop, and I've gone 10 feet in the air chin first."

One journalist poked a bit of fun at Gordon, presenting him with a gift of a neon green bike helmet and training wheels.

"I think the moral of that story is we probably spend a lot too much time on our phones these days," Gordon told reporters with a laugh. "Just enjoy the moments instead of going on the phone."

Manager Gareth Southgate "laughed at first, just like everyone else did," Gordon said. "It was a bit of a joke. It wasn't that serious so everyone was just sort of laughing at me, laughing at me pain."

With Southgate's wealth of talented