Socceroos rising star Mohamed Toure is in doubt for a pair of upcoming friendlies against Brazil after suffering a shoulder injury early in Norwich City’s thrilling EFL Championship loss to Bolton.
But despite only playing 15 minutes, the 22-year old still had time to continue his stunning start to the English season with a thunderous early strike.
Toure finished off an outstanding attacking foray from teammate Andre Brooks with a clinical finish from the edge of the box after just five minutes, to earn Norwich a 1-0 lead.
“That is lethal! That is absolutely lethal from Mo Toure!” the commentator exclaimed.
Remarkably, it is the third time the Australian has scored inside 10 minutes of a match this Championship season, while it was his fifth goal of the campaign and sixth across all competitions.
Just moments later, Toure would have another goal chalked off for offside.
But things soured in the 15th minute when he went down clutching his shoulder after tussling with Bolton defender Ben Davies, after which he conceded a free kick.
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In clear discomfort, Toure was assisted from the field, with Norwich manager Philippe Clement telling BBC Sport post-match it was “too early” to determine the extent of the injury.
“It’s too early to assess, but of course it doesn’t look good if you need to come off in the last game before you go (on international duty),” Clement said.
The Australian’s absence was a major blow for the Canaries, who lost 4-3 in a high-scoring thriller.
Bolton goals on either side of half time opened up a 3-2 lead for Bolton, and though Jack Stacey equalised in the 61st minute, Atsuki Ito scored a winner in the 72nd minute to take all three points.
“A frantic game today, really, really frantic game in every sense,” Clement said.
“Going in front with a good goal, dominating the game, then in the first attack of them, you concede, where we don’t defend good enough clearly.
“Then you lose Mo in the first half, so you need to make a sub before half-time, which is never good. All these things disrupt you for sure.”
For Toure, attention now turns to the friendly series against Brazil, with the first match on Friday in Townsville.
A shoulder or collarbone injury could sideline him for up to a month, which would rule him out of both internationals.