Everton journalist Richard Buxton was left shocked by the linesman's decision to keep his flag down shortly before Ben Godfrey got injured against Chelsea.

The Lowdown: Tight game

It was a tight game at Goodison Park, where the visitors triumphed in the end thanks to a penalty from Jorginho deep into added time at the end of the first half.

The Merseyside club were perhaps rocked by the injury suffered by Godfrey early in the match, from which he was forced off, while fellow central defender Yerry Mina also came off with injury in the second half.

The Latest: Buxton shocked

An image was shared on Twitter of the ball clearly going out of play before Jordan Pickford tried to rescue it, as Kai Havertz then picked it up in a dangerous area before being tackled by Godfrey.

It was a challenge that the Englishman did not have to make, if the linesman instead raised his flag before the incident, which would have resulted in a corner.

Taking to Twitter, Buxton described the decision by the linesman not to put his flag up as 'astounding':

"Considering they're flag happy about even the slightest movement, it's astounding that this wasn't picked up by the linesman."

The Verdict: Avoidable

The situation where Godfrey felt that he had to challenge Havertz for the ball was easily avoidable, and the linesman should have really put his flag up.

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Now, as confirmed by the Toffees, Godfrey has been taken to hospital, and could face a lengthy spell out on the sidelines.

With Mina having to come off too after struggling with a knock, it leaves Frank Lampard very short in the centre-back area.