Chelsea FC goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois suffered a head injury in a nasty collision with Arsenal winger Alexis Sanchez in their Premier League clash on Sunday and was later taken to the hospital for scans and tests. The club announced a few days later that he was fit and healthy enough to be called up by the Belgium national team for a pair of Euro 2016 qualifiers and he was indeed called up to the squad.
More from Chelsea FC News
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
- Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1
- Chelsea sporting directors finally reveal why they sign so many young players
- These 3 new signings may never get a game at Chelsea
It has been revealed this week that Belgium may rest the young keeper for the qualifier against Andorra on Friday if he is still not fully fit and does not pass the team’s scans. Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said they are willing to do so because they have a solid goalkeeper in Simon Mignolet ready to step in if needed.
Belgium manager Marc Wilmots on Thibaut Courtois’s injury:
"“He leaves tomorrow morning but still has an extra scan. When he gets here tomorrow night, there is still no problem for Friday. Chelsea just want security and I understand them. He is almost completely recovered, but not fully. Besides, even if he cannot play, we can play Simon Mignolet.”Source: ESPN"
Concussions are tricky injuries to deal with and Thibaut Courtois appeared to suffer a very bad one against Arsenal less than a week ago. Players can sometimes show signs of the injury for months and others are fine after a few weeks.
It is unclear what the recovery time will be in Thibaut Courtois’s but it is nice to see a national team manager take extra precaution with a player rather than risk further injury by playing him anyway. Both Belgium and Chelsea FC have fine backups to Thibaut Courtois but hopefully his injury layoff is not very long.
Follow us on Twitter at @PrideOLondon
Like us on Facebook at The Pride of London