After suffering a concussion against Arsenal, Chelsea FC midfielder Oscar is reportedly available to face Leicester City on Wednesday. Considering the fact that Oscar was sent to the hospital at halftime, this raises serious questions about whether he is truly available or if he will just travel with the team.
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The Blues head to King Power Stadium on Wednesday to face the relegation threatened Foxes. This will be an emotional and likely physical match against a desperate team and it does not make much sense to risk a player like Oscar’s future health in a match like this. The young Brazilian looked to suffer a very serious injury and was obviously dazed from the hit from Arsenal keeper David Ospina.
It is an absolute travesty that Ospina was not sent off for his dangerous tackle on Oscar and that the Blues were not given a penalty. Football concerns aside, the tackle was also a reckless and dangerous play on the part of Ospina and there should be no place in the game for something like that. Some say that he was simply out of control or incompetent but that is no excuse for a reckless play.
Many pundits also took the opportunity to slam the general lack of concern in football for concussions and hits to the head. Upon viewing the replay, it was clear that Oscar was very dazed from the hit and it was obvious that he had suffered a concussion. The fact that he was allowed to continue until halftime shows an obvious need for reform in how clubs handle head injuries.
Jose Mourinho spoke about Oscar in his press conference today and said he was available for the upcoming match. He said, as quoted by Sky Sports, “Oscar left the hospital and stayed at home last night. He should be here today. Everybody will travel to Leicester. I really don’t know if he will definitely play. His face was swelling and we did not want to go for any risk.”
Mourinho continued, “I know that for me the most important thing is that last night he was not in hospital [overnight], he went to his house and slept at home. If he was playing without an injury history I would play him tomorrow, but because he is a player with injury history I have to think about it.”
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Announcers during the match also said that it was Mourinho who had to send Oscar to the hospital and it was not the doctors who made the call. The National Football League uses independent doctors to determine whether a player has suffered a concussion or not and it is time for the Premier League and world football to do the same.
As Mourinho points out Oscar does have an injury history but that is irrelevant to this discussion. Even if the player says that he is feeling better and is ready to play, the prudent thing to do would be to rest him and keep him off the field.
The Blues are lucky enough to have a comfortable lead at the top of the table but even if it were a one point race, a player’s long-term health is more important than any title race. Let us hope Mourinho does the right thing and allows Oscar to sit this one out.
Photos by @cfcunoffical (Chelsea Debs). On Twitter and at cfcunofficial.com
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