Why was Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson substituted against Tottenham?

Manchester City replaced goalkeeper Ederson with backup Stefan Ortega in the second half of their Premier League victory away to Tottenham Hotspur, with the Brazilian shotstopper furious with Pep Guardiola’s decision.

Ederson escapes serious injury in Romero clash

Near the hour mark, the 30-year-old was involved in a collision with Spurs defender Cristian Romero, the pair coming together as they challenged for a cross at the back post. Ederson claimed the ball but came off worst as the Argentinian’s hip smashed into his head.

Initially, it looked as if the goalkeeper had suffered a serious injury as the City medical staff rushed to his attention. After several minutes, however, he picked himself up, dusted himself down and looked set to play on, to the surprise of most.

Ederson was allowed to continue for a little while longer having seemingly got over the worst of the knock to the head, although the decision was taken out of his hands by Guardiola, who opted to replace him with Ortega.

The Brazil international trudged off the field, remonstrated with the former Barcelona head coach and furiously made his way over to the bench, clearly unimpressed that he would no longer be able to help his team as they look to clinch a fifth Premier League title in six years.

Will Ederson play against West Ham? What are the Premier League’s concussion rules?

Ederson’s reaction suggests he may be able to play in City’s final game of the season at home to West Ham, in which a win will clinch the championship. However, the incident again highlights the Premier League’s fairly vague stance toward concussions.

In short, it is up to the medical staff of each club to decide whether they believe a player has suffered a concussion or not, which has led to suspicions players have played on when they shouldn’t have done.

The Premier League does, however, offer teams the chance to make an extra substitution if a player suffers a concussion during a game, and any player who has been diagnosed as being concussed cannot play in a competitive game for six days.

If City’s medical team does rule Ederson received such an injury, he would miss the final fixture against The Hammers, which would see Ortega come back in between the sticks.