A doctor who studied video evidence of what happened to Rodrigo Bentancur during the Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg win over Liverpool has given his theory on what forced the Tottenham midfielder to be stretchered off.
The clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium had 11 minutes added on in the first half after the Spurs star was left sprawled on the ground having stooped to try and flick on a near post corner.
Sky Sports‘ cameras kept well clear of the player as he laid on the floor, a sure sign that the incident was of a serious nature, with Ange Postecoglou bringing on Brennan Johnson as Tottenham earned a narrow lead in the tie thanks to Lucas Bergvall’s second-half strike.
Footage of Bentancur moments before showed him doing something unusual with his jaw, swinging it from side to side, leading to speculation that it may have been a precursor for what happened next.
However, Dr Gareth Nye, a lecturer in Biomedical Science at the University of Salford, thinks there is a good chance the swinging jaw may have been unrelated. Indeed, he believes the Uruguayan may have only suffered a concussion.
Bentancur posted a picture on Instagram from his hospital bed, saying: “All good, guys! Thank you for the messages!!! Congratulations for the victory boys!!!” – news that will have come as a massive relief to everyone who watched the game.
Speaking following Bentancur’s statement, Dr Nye explained what he thought he could see in the footage. “I have seen a lot of the online speculation around a stroke,” he told the Daily Star. “There is no specific video evidence that definitively proves it was a stroke and no one could diagnose of what was essentially a less than two-second clip whilst the player moved his head around.”
Dr Nye thinks it is possible that reason could be far more innocent. “For example,” he continued. “He may have been stretching his jaw at the time or even trying not to yawn. There are many things which could explain the facial expressions.
“This is also supported by the fact he was conscious and talking on the pitch, remained in the dressing room for quite a while after the incident and shows no sign of facial drooping in his later Instagram post.”
Bentancur likely suffered a concussion
Dr Nye then looked more closely at the attempted header, adding: “Having watched the video slowed down, you can see he twists his head to get to the ball and as he lands on the pitch, the side of his head hits the ground with some force to the point his head bounces back up again.
“The brain is protected by the skull however in cases of trauma like this the brain actually bangs against the inside of the skull leading to bruising and as the brain is damaged it very often causes a loss of conscious, blurred vision and it can disrupt breathing patterns.
“My best guess would be Bentancur had quite a bad case of concussion and thankfully seems to be in good shape afterwards”.
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Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly on the verge of agreeing personal terms for the addition of another striker for Ange Postecoglou in what is turning into a busy January window for the north London club.
Despite getting Dominic Solanke on board over the summer, Postecoglou still wants another central attacker to ease the load on the former Bournemouth man and also skipper Son Heung-min when he asked to fill in at that position.
And the player they are being heavily backed to bring in is struggling PSG forward Randal Kolo Muani.
The France international remains of interest to a number of clubs, but Tottenham appear to be closing in on a move for the 26-year-old, with TBR Football claiming that they are now on the verge of agreeing personal terms with Kolo Muani.
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