Tim Ream felt Fulham stuck at their task well against Leeds, despite team-mate Lucas Piazon being taken off with a serious injury before half-time.
Piazon was clearly in a lot of pain after the challenge from Connor Shaughnessy, although it was not obvious how bad the injury was as he was helped down the tunnel.
Often in football, when a player has suffered a serious injury, it has a knock-on effect on his team’s display and distracts his team-mates.
Ream admitted it’s tough when someone you care about goes off hurt, but insisted you have to ignore it until the 90 minutes are up.
“I mean you’re kind of aware when he throws his hand up right away and has to be carried down the tunnel,” Ream said.
“But it’s one of those that we obviously care deeply what happens, but we can’t focus on it and worry about it until after the whistle blows and the 90 minutes are up.
“You’re aware of, maybe not the severity of it, but when a guy gets carried off it is noticeable.”
It is the second bone Piazon has broken already in 2017, after missing a chunk of last season with a broken jaw that he picked up at Cardiff.
Ream bemoaned the bad luck of the energetic Brazilian.
He added: “He’s one of those players that’s so energetic and likes to throw his little frame around.
“Because he’s so energetic and so eager, he goes into tackles and you know, just has some bad luck.
“Last year at Cardiff breaking his jaw, it’s almost the same way – running down the line and clashing with a guy.
“It’s such a shame because he brings such an energy and a passion to the team that it’s going to be missed.”
