In last night’s Champions League Semi-Final clash at White Hart Lane between Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax, there was a worrying moment for centre-half Jan Vertonghen as he suffered a bloody head injury in a clash with teammate Toby Alderweireld just after the midway point in the first half.
Despite needing treatment and to be patched up (as well as a kit change from the blood), looking clearly the worse for wear, he was allowed to continue and the dugout had to quickly change their mind and replaced him with Moussa Sissoko in minute 39 when he then quickly became unsteady on his feet.
With manager Mauricio Pochettino chipping in to help him from the pitch as he struggled, there are questions to answer about the concussion protocol even though he was double checked on the insistence of the referee and Pochettino defended our medical staff post-game given he passed those tests, despite his later problem.
Vertonghen did walk away from the ground and explained that it wasn’t a concussion, he just felt weak and briefly fainted – but still, you would imagine there would be calls for even tougher rules now.
With the immediate concern over, you would understand the club taking a kid gloves approach to Vertonghen and Saturday’s clash with Bournemouth just to be absolutely on the safe side of things here.