Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur ‘conscious and responsive’ after head collision

Ange Postecoglou says Rodrigo Bentancur is “conscious and communicating” after sustaining 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 collision with Leicester's Abdul Fatawu just over 70 minutes into the Premier League match at the King Power Stadium.

“I don't have much information,” said Postecoglou when asked for an update on Bentancur's condition after the game. “I know he's on his feet and communicating. So from that point of view he's OK, but he obviously has a head injury. We'll leave that to the medical team. The most important thing is that he's conscious and communicating.”

The 27-year-old will continue to be assessed.

Players close to the incident immediately expressed concern after the two players collided heads on a Tottenham corner kick, with referee Christopher Kavanagh immediately stopping play so that Bentancur could receive medical attention.

After an eight-minute stoppage in play, the midfielder, who was receiving oxygen from paramedics, was upright and conscious before being carried off the field on a stretcher.

Bentancur was subsequently replaced by Spurs' summer signing Archie Gray as a concussion patient replacement.

At the start of the 2024–25 season, the IFAB has officially introduced the permanent substitution of players after concussions.

The measure, which was previously trialled in a number of competitions including the Premier League, Women's Super League, FA Women's Championship and FA Cup, came into force on 1 July 2024.

For Bentancur, it was his first game at the King Power since he tore his cruciate ligament at the stadium in February 2023. The injury kept him out for eight months.

(DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)