Tottenham games Lucas Bergvall will miss after concussion injury vs Chelsea

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Lucas Bergvall was handed a starting spot against Chelsea this evening, but had to be removed from the pitch early on due to a head injury.

The young Swedish midfielder was preferred to Xavi Simons with Thomas Frank mixing up his team selection for the London derby.

However, after the ball hit the Tottenham ace in the head from close range, he spent some time on the sidelines and was spotted staggering. Despite his remonstrations, an enforced concussion substitution was made by Spurs.

Naturally, the player himself will be gutted at missing out on upwards of 80 minutes of action against Chelsea, but as per concussion rules, Bergvall may well be out for a lot longer, further adding to Tottenham’s injury crisis.

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Lucas Bergvall could be out for 21 days – here are the games he’ll miss

The FA’s rulebook states that players suffering a concussion who are removed from play for that reason should be medically evaluated in the aftermath and should not participate in any sporting activity for 1-2 days after.

If the player is deemed to have suffered a concussion, there is an expectation of a gradual return-to-play (GRTP) that can last as long as 21 days without contact sport. This includes an initial 14-day rest period, which involves regular monitoring and assessments.

Assuming that is the case for Bergvall, we can be almost certain that the teenager will miss the upcoming Champions League clash with FC Copenhagen on Tuesday night.

He may well also miss the next Premier League game, a home tie against Manchester United next Saturday.

Even more worrying for Spurs fans is the fact that the North London Derby is on November 23rd, which is 22 days from now. So, if Bergvall is out for the full advised period of the GRTP protocol, he would go into the game against Arsenal with very little training and having been lacking match sharpness for three weeks. Not ideal preparation, to say the least.

We will now have to wait and see what Thomas Frank says after the game and how those initial assessments go for Bergvall over the coming days.