Furthermore the pilot should have been able to land it if that was the case.

As c5 and others have alluded to - the F35 isn't on par with the A-10 as far as having the "bathtub" underneath protecting it. A-10s have landed with missing wing parts, rudders, tails - there is nothing like them. The F-35 wasn't designed like that, especially because it can fly MUCH faster.

We also (assuming it was shot) don't know what was hit. Maybe the shot(s) hit something that damaged all pilot control. Actually if that happened and the military can find out what part was hit it would be almost a "good thing" so they could fix it before the planes get hit in battle.