Chelsea FC's sporting crisis continues to grow, but fades into the background. Team captain Cesar Azpilicueta was badly hit in the head in the Premier League game against Southampton FC and collapsed unconscious. Coach Graham Potter explains what's next.
The pictures gave rise to fears of the worst, but there is now at least a slight all-clear and cautious positive news about Cesar Azpilicueta's state of health. "He is conscious and has spoken to his wife," coach Graham Potter is quoted as saying on the Chelsea FC website: "Of course we were very concerned, especially when it just happened. But hopefully things are looking better now. We watch him closely." Azpilicueta sustained a serious head injury in the Premier League game against Southampton FC and is now being treated in hospital.
Potter classified what happened in the 74th minute of the game at Stamford Bridge following the 1-0 defeat as a "terrible accident", which hardly concerned anyone in London despite the sporting misery. Chelsea couldn't get the ball out of the box after an opponent's corner, Azpilicueta trying to clear with his head while Southampton's Sekou Mara launched a side kick. The foot hit the face with full force and Azpilicueta then lay motionless on the field.
The surrounding footballers immediately called for help, and first responders from both teams treated the 33-year-old immediately. Nobody blames Mara, after the unintentional but momentous hit everyone is shocked. "It was accidental," Potter classified the action, "but it was still a kick in the face. You can see how bad that was."
For several minutes Azpilicueta, who according to his coach had temporarily lost consciousness, was treated lying on the pitch and even given oxygen. After that, he was able to be taken from the field to the hospital on a stretcher, once he was conscious again. Pictures even show him thanking fans for their sympathy by clapping his hands.
Only the next investigations will show which injuries the Spaniard has sustained, even if Potter was able to give the first all-clear. After an interruption of around ten minutes, the game could be continued, but from a Chelsea perspective it remained 0-1 - despite winter transfers worth over 300 million euros, the Blues were only able to win one of their ten competitive games in 2023. For the fourth time in the last five appearances, the team around German national player Kai Havertz also failed to score.
