But the pain for Eze didn’t end there, as he returned to the medical room afterwards to find a call-up to the provisional England squad just weeks before Euro 2020 began.
In his own words, the 23-year-old recalls what happened.
“It was mad,” Eze smiles. “Roy said he’s leaving, which was sad. I didn’t know it was happening but there was a feeling around the place that was unsure. To hear him say it was: this isn’t good. I didn’t like that.
“Then to go and play, get injured in that way. I’d just received the ball and went to push off and it felt like someone had kicked me as hard as they could in the back of my Achilles. I looked round and no one’s there so I’m like: ‘Yeah, I know this is bad.’ I’m holding it. The adrenaline could have allowed me to get up and walk but I’m saying to myself: ‘Yeah, I know this is a problem.’ I’m already crying, I’m in tears.
“I go into the doc’s room and was thinking: ‘Oh, my gosh.’ I’m thinking about my parents – what are they going to [say] when I tell them this? My parents worry about me anyway, so this is going to be terrible for them.
“I asked Danny [Young, Player Liaison Officer] if he could get my phone. He brings it and I see a message from someone from England. It wasn’t me being selected, but it was the provisional: ‘You could potentially be selected for the 30.’ So when I saw that I was just like:” - Eze laughs at this point - “‘Yeah, that makes sense. That’s probably about right.’
“The way I see it, if I was meant to be there [the Euros], I would have been there. God had another plan and He wanted to use this for whatever reason. I’ve just got to get my head around it… I had to put my phone down. I realised this is God’s plan because you couldn’t write that. At all. From where I’ve come from to this point now, this is far beyond anything I could control.”