Football
ESPN staff 9y

Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois gets all-clear after tests on head injury

Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been given the all-clear to play for Belgium in their upcoming Euro 2016 qualifiers after he suffered a head injury in a clash with Alexis Sanchez in Sunday's London derby at Stamford Bridge.

Courtois controversially remained on the field for a period after the clash even though he sustained a blow to the head in the 10th-minute collision with the Chilean winger, but Chelsea have now confirmed their first-choice keeper has been given a green light to resume training.

"Chelsea Football Club can confirm Thibaut Courtois went to hospital during our Premier League game against Arsenal yesterday [Sunday] for precautionary tests on a head injury," the statement, published on the official Chelsea website, said. "Those tests came back all clear.

"Thibaut was treated for a minor cut to his ear and was released from hospital last night. He is expected to report for international duty later this week."

The 22-year-old posted on his Twitter feed:

Petr Cech, who has been usurped as the club's No. 1 this season by Courtois, replaced the Belgian in the 24th minute.

"As soon as that happened I started getting ready in case he had to go off in a few minutes," the Czech told Chelsea's official website. "I was ready for any possibilities and when I came on I felt okay."

Cech suggested Chelsea's game plan to stop Arsenal from playing worked to perfection on Sunday, as he played his first Premier League football of the season.

"We wanted to be tough," he said. "We wanted to be well-organised and not give them space to play because you can see they have some fantastic players who, even in small spaces, can play very well with the ball.

"We tried to reduce their movement in between the lines and not to give them time and possibilities to play through balls. We were well-organised and every time we had the ball and went forward we tried to be dangerous.

"I think we played very well. The first goal changed the way the game was played a little bit but once we got the advantage I felt like we were in a very good position."

Cech reserved special praise for Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who provided the vital pass for Diego Costa's decisive goal in the 2-0 win.

"It was a brilliant pass," he added. "Everybody knows how Cesc sees the game and how important he is. He delivered another great pass and obviously Diego is there to score goals.

"There was a lot of hard work for him to do yesterday but when he had his chance he scored the goal. Everybody is delighted with him."

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