Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been taken to hospital after he was substituted against Arsenal following a collision with Alexis Sanchez.
Courtois was seen to be bleeding from his ear having stayed on the pitch for another 14 minutes after being hit by Alexis's thigh in the 10th minute. The Chilean was chasing a long ball but could not stop in time and collided with the goalkeeper, knocking him flat.
Following new Premier League rules regarding head injuries, Chelsea's medical staff made the decision to let Courtois play on after assessing him, but they were forced to replace him with Petr Cech after a second examination found the bleeding.
Early reports from Chelsea at half-time suggested he was taken to hospital purely as a precaution and Jose Mourinho confirmed after the match that the goalkeeper was OK.
Jose says he was worried for Thibaut Courtois, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, after his injury. #CFC
- Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) October 5, 2014
Jose says Courtois went to hospital as a precaution but the injury is 'nothing special. Nothing to be too much worried about.' #CFC
- Chelsea FC (@chelseafc) October 5, 2014
"Doctor Biosca [Chelsea's medical director Paco Biosca] says there's nothing to be too much worried about,'' said Mourinho, after confirming Courtois had gone for tests. "On the bench I don't communicate with the doctors. I just get decisions. 'Can he stay [on]?' 'Yes'; 'He has to leave'. 'Okay'.
"I have no time and no medical qualities to discuss that. I was just worried for the kid [Courtois], not worried about the game and the performance. We have two of the best three goalkeepers in the world, so when one of them is injured and comes out and the other one comes in, no problem, no change in my heart beat.
"[I was] so confident that Petr could do once more a fantastic job for us.''
Cech began the season as second choice after a decade in the first XI and made his 480th appearance for Chelsea, just his second as a substitute. The 32-year-old plays wearing a rugby scrum cap after fracturing his skull against Reading in October 2006.
Mourinho believes Chelsea acted properly in relation to Courtois.
"I always tell them [Chelsea's medical team] when I'm on the bench I don't want to communicate with them,'' Mourinho said. "I just want them to give me a decision and they gave me a decision. For me that's correct.
"The club doctor, or the club medical department to take control and the responsibility.''