Alberth Elis, Girondins de Bordeaux player, placed in a “protective artificial coma” after a head impact

The Honduran striker of the Girondins de Bordeaux, Alberth Elis, is still hospitalized, Sunday February 25, following a major head shock suffered during an aerial duel at the start of the match against Guingamp, Saturday, at the occasion of the 26^e day of Ligue 2.

The 28-year-old “victim of head trauma”suffered “a surgical procedure in the night” at the CHU Pellegrin, in Bordeaux, where he remains placed “in a protective artificial coma”the Girondin club announced on Sunday. “It is still impossible to comment on the vital and functional prognosis” of Alberth Elis, Bordeaux said.

The shock suffered by Elis took place barely forty seconds into the game when, upon receiving a cross, the Bordeaux player hit the head of Guingamp defender Donatien Gomis. If the latter quickly regained his senses, Elis was seriously stunned and treated for many minutes before being evacuated.

Elis, 28, nicknamed “the Panther”, is a Honduran football star (64 caps, 13 goals), who made himself known in MLS in Houston before attempting the European adventure in 2020 in Boavista (Portugal), partly owned by Gerard Lopez, the owner of the Girondins. During his first season in Bordeaux, in 2021-2022, he scored 9 goals in 20 matches in L1 but was unable to prevent the club’s relegation. After a spell on loan at Brest in Ligue 1, he returned to Bordeaux in the summer of 2023.

A “concussion protocol” to replace the player

His hospitalization will once again fuel the debate on the management of concussions in football. “Last season, there were 25 concussions in more than 800 professional matches in France, or one concussion every 50 to 60 matches. Emmanuel Orhant, medical director of the French Football Federation (FFF), told AFP. This year, we had 5 concussions, or one concussion every 80 games. In Top 14 rugby, it’s a commotion every two matches. So, there aren’t many situations like this in football but that’s not why we shouldn’t take this problem seriously. »

According to article 588 of the regulations of the Professional Football League (LFP), “any concussion occurring during training or during a match (…) requires treatment by the team’s medical staff or, failing that, by the field resuscitation doctor for three minutes”. “It is mandatory that an expert examination be carried out within seventy-two hours following the concussion by a doctor expert in the management of concussions” And “the return to competition must be done gradually”according to “a 6-step protocol” defined by the FFF.

Since 2020, the International Board (IFAB), guardian of the rules of world football, has also launched an experiment by authorizing competition organizers to test concussion protocols making it possible to permanently replace a player per team in the event of a suspicious impact, in outside the rule of maximum five substitutions. France is one of the countries having implemented these tests. “We have been doing this for two years, which allows us not to impact the team and to avoid any pressure on the doctor from the coach”explained Emmanuel Orhant.

Before Alberth Elis, other players have recently suffered similar injuries. At the start of the season, the French 2018 world champion Samuel Umtiti, stunned in a violent clash with the Japanese Junya Ito, was hospitalized after resuming the match between Lille and Reims (1-2) and having felt unwell in the locker room at halftime. In Spain, FC Barcelona player Ronald Araujo was also evacuated to hospital after heavy contact with his teammate Gavi against Celta Vigo in 2022.

The most emblematic case remains that of Petr Cech in 2006. The Chelsea goalkeeper was hit in the face by a Reading player’s knee and was treated off the field before being transported to hospital. He then wore a helmet until the end of his career.