Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez could miss the Premier League clash against Tottenham next Saturday after suffering a head injury in the 2-0 win over Everton. The 34-year-old was stretchered off following a heavy collision with Jarrad Branthwaite, and concussion protocols may now keep him sidelined.
Mike Penders replaced Martinez in goal and helped secure the clean sheet. After the match, manager Xabi Alonso offered an update, saying: "What we know is that he left the stadium conscious. Right now he's in the hospital doing precautionary tests. So we need to wait, and, for sure, hopefully it won't be too bad, but we need to wait at the moment."
Concussion return-to-play protocol
The best-case scenario would be that Martinez has not suffered a concussion, but the 10-minute delay for treatment and the speed of the collision suggest otherwise. At elite level, a return to action can be managed on day 7 - which would be next Saturday - but Martinez would not have trained during the week, and it depends on completing a six-stage 'return to play' procedure.
The initial phase involves a 48-hour rest period with minimal physical and cognitive activities. According to FA guidelines, this should be followed by "a staged and graduated return to full daily activities", with light football training permitted but nothing that could worsen symptoms.
Spurs fixture and team news
The four subsequent stages consist of football-specific exercise, non-contact training, full-contact training, and a complete return to match action. Players diagnosed with concussion rarely feature in the next fixture, with Nico Gonzalez having sat out Newcastle United's following match after a similar injury this season.
Chelsea host Tottenham at Stamford Bridge next Saturday, but Alonso will be without club captain Reece James, who underwent knee surgery earlier this week and is expected to be sidelined for a few months. Moises Caicedo has returned and was instrumental in the Everton victory, while Pedro Neto scored twice and dedicated the win to both goalkeepers, saying: "In his [Emiliano Martinez's] honour. We needed that. We did a very good game. Emi deserved this. Mike [Penders] deserved this as well. We are really happy."
