'Hard to fathom' why Ederson was not substituted earlier

Image source, Reuters

  • Author, Nick Mashiter
  • Role, Senior football news reporter

Headway, the brain injury association, has spoken about the handling of Ederson's injury in Manchester City's win at Tottenham.

The Brazil goalkeeper was involved in a collision with Cristian Romero in Tuesday's 2-0 win which put City on the brink of a fourth straight Premier League title.

Ederson needed several minutes of treatment after being caught by Romero's hip in the second half.

Despite concerns, he was allowed to play on for several minutes before being replaced by Stefan Ortega, with Headway chief executive Luke Griggs questioning the process.

"The concern from players of both teams in the immediate aftermath of the injury, as well as from the medical team and the fact a stretcher was brought onto the pitch, would suggest a clear concern for Ederson's wellbeing," said Griggs.

"The fact that he was not immediately removed would suggest a concussion was not suspected, this is hard to understand especially as symptoms can be delayed in their presentation.

"While we were relieved to see the player taken off a few minutes later, it is hard to fathom why this was not an immediate decision. It is yet another example of when a temporary concussion substitute would have been helpful."

Griggs added: "Ederson's angry reaction is no surprise given the competitive nature of players who want to take part in massive games like this one, though his reaction underscores the need to take such decisions out of the players' hands."

City manager Pep Guardiola said after the match that Ederson was not concussed. "He had a problem with his eye, he could not see properly so the doctor said I should change," he said.