Concern remains high regarding the state of health of Honduran Girondins de Bordeaux striker Alberth Elis, still hospitalized on Sunday morning, according to media reports, after a major blow to the head suffered during an aerial duel during of the match against Guingamp, Saturday in Ligue 2. The 28-year-old player was successfully operated on during the night from Saturday to Sunday at CHU Pellegrin in Bordeaux, after being placed in an artificial coma, according to the regional press and several Honduran media . The club has not confirmed this information, hiding behind medical secrecy.
The incident 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. Nicknamed “the panther” and star in his country, the striker (64 caps, 13 goals) made himself known in the North American championship (MLS) in Houston before attempting the European adventure in 2020 in Boavista ( Portugal), partly owned by Gérard Lopez, the owner of the Girondins.
What concussion protocol?
During his first season in Bordeaux, in 2021/2022, he scored 9 goals in 20 L1 matches but was unable to prevent the Gironde club from being relegated. After a spell on loan at Brest in Ligue 1, he returned to Bordeaux last summer. His hospitalization will once again fuel the debate on the management of concussions in football.
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 medical staff of the team or, failing that, by the field resuscitation doctor for three minutes”. “It is mandatory that an expert examination be carried out within 72 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 protocol in 6 steps” defined by the French Football Federation (FFF).
Since 2020, the International Board (Ifab), guardian of the rules of world football, has 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, outside of the rule of five substitutions maximum. The English professional footballers’ union (PFA) for its part pleaded in 2022 in favor of temporary replacements, rather than permanent.
Before 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.