Ange Postecoglou says Rodrigo Bentancur is “conscious and communicating” after suffering a head injury during Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-1 draw with Leicester City on Monday night.
The Uruguayan midfielder was involved in a head-on-head collision with Leicester’s Abdul Fatawu with just over 70 minutes played in the Premier League fixture at the King Power Stadium.
“I don’t have a lot of information,” said Postecoglou when asked for an update on Bentancur’s condition after full time. “I do know he is up and communicating. So he is fine from that point of view but obviously a head injury. We leave it in the hands of the medical team. The key thing is he is conscious and communicating.”
The 27-year-old will continue to be assessed.
There was immediate concern from players close to the incident following the clash of heads, which took place as the two players contested a Tottenham corner. Referee Christopher Kavanagh immediately called a halt to proceedings in order to allow Bentancur to receive medical treatment.
Following an eight-minute stoppage in play, the midfielder, who received oxygen from medics, was sitting up and conscious before being stretchered off the field.
Bentancur was subsequently replaced by Spurs summer signing Archie Gray as a concussion substitute.
Permanent concussion substitutions were officially introduced by football’s lawmakers IFAB for the start of the 2024-25 season.
The measure, which had previously been trialled in a number of competitions —including the Premier League, Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship and FA Cup — came into effect from July 1, 2024.
The game was Bentancur’s first at the King Power since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament at the stadium in February 2023. The injury kept him out for eight months.
(DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)
