Jul 1, 2014; Salvador, BRAZIL; Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (1) stops the shot on goal by United States forward Clint Dempsey (8) in overtime during the round of sixteen match in the 2014 World Cup at Arena Fonte Nova. Belgium defeated USA 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Chelsea FC goalkeeper and the Belgium No. 1 Thibaut Courtois was injured in the 10th minute their match against Arsenal on October 5th after a nasty collision with Arsenal winger Alexis Sanchez. The Chelsea FC medical staff quickly rushed to his side and eventually cleared him to play the rest of the game, but was later replaced by Petr Cech due to dizziness, sight problems, and bleeding from the ear roughly 13 minutes after the game resumed.
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Courtois later commented that the Chelsea medical staff was very professional in their on-field assessment of his injury, claiming that doctor Eva Carneiro was correct in letting him continue to play after no symptoms of an injury were present. But, as we all know, injuries to the head are not always apparent immediately after the incident, and he was taken out of the game later after symptoms began to show.
"“I didn’t feel I was knocked out but I was hit. I didn’t have a headache or anything, but after a few minutes I felt worse and worse. Then I started to feel a little dizzy and I couldn’t see the ball anymore, and there was a little blood coming from my ear. Because I saw trouble, I went off.”Source: Sky Sports"
Courtois continued to join up with the Belgium squad a day after the rest of the players reported to training camp because of his assessment at a local hospital, and proceeded to play the full 90 minutes in their 6-0 win against Andorra on Friday and their 1-1 draw against Boznia and Herzegovina on Friday.
This is a good sign for Chelsea fans, as he will most likely be able to go the distance this weekend in Chelsea’s league game against Crystal Palace.
Do you think the Chelsea medical staff did the right thing on continuing to let him play? Let us know in the comments below!