Goalie Čech makes 480th appearance for Chelsea following chilling Courtois injury

Former first-choice Chelsea goalie Petr Čech made his 480th appearance for the London club on Sunday after new team No. 1 Thibaut Courtois suffered a head injury in a chilling collision with Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez just ten minutes into the match. Courtois played for another 14 minutes before coming off to be taken to hospital. Coach Jose Mourinho said that he had been confident that replacement Čech would do a “fantastic job”; Chelsea ended up winning the match 2:0. The coach later made clear that Courtois had suffered from an apparent concussion but that the injury was not serious. Back-up Čech was Chelsea’s starting goalie for a decade; there is speculation that – if he fails to regain his place as the club’s top goalie – he will reconsider his options when the next transfer window opens.

Author: Jan Velinger