Chelsea manager Graham Potter has confirmed that club captain Cesar Azpilicueta is able to speak from his hospital bed after being knocked unconscious in Saturday’s Southampton loss.
Azpilicueta was starting his first Premier League game in over a month but was stretchered from the field before the end with an oxygen mask after a stray boot from Saints forward Sekou Mara’s attempted overhead kick caught him full in the face.
Players from both teams rushed to the aide of the Spaniard as medical staff ran over – although fans on social media later noted Chelsea duo Joao Felix and Mykhailo Mudryk breaking out into some one touch stuff only a few yards away while Azpilicueta was being treated.
- Chelsea 0-1 Southampton: Player ratings - Premier League
- Graham Potter responds to Chelsea boos after Southampton loss
Following careful treatment on the pitch that lasted several minutes, Azpilicueta was later carried from the pitch and taken straight to hospital.
“He's in hospital so he's in the best place. He's conscious and speaking to his wife so that's good. We'll keep monitoring him,” Potter confirmed.
“We have to take all the precautions now as it was worrying. It was a horrible incident."
The Chelsea boss also added, “I think he was unconscious at one point, so it was worrying for everyone. It was accidental but still it was a kick in the face. You can see how bad it was.”
Azpilicueta has largely been a fringe player this season, starting only 11 Premier League games – the majority of which when Reece James was ruled out through injury. James made his return to action in the 0-0 draw with Fulham earlier this month but was not involved against Southampton.
Speaking before kick-off, Potter had confirmed that there was no fresh injury concern over James and was instead being deliberately rested due to the fixture demands so soon after returning.
"We've got a few boys who have recently returned from injury and for them to play three games in a week at this stage, it's just too much for them. So we've had to use the group,” the boss said.
“We don't have any injuries. We are just using this as a chance to rest a few players who have a little bit of fatigue. It's the circumstances we find ourselves in and we just have to be careful.”
READ NEXT: The 50 most expensive football transfers of all time
Source : 90min