Loris Karius sustained a concussion during the Champions League final which may have affected his performance, according to a leading expert on brain injuries.
The Liverpool goalkeeper had a disastrous game in Kiev, making two high-profile mistakes which directly led to Real Madrid goals as the Spanish side went on to win 3-1 and take their third successive European crown.
Footage which later circulated on social media appeared to show Real Madrid’s captain Sergio Ramos connect with Karius’s head in an off-the-ball incident, which occurred only a few minutes before his first error.
Dr Ross D Zafonte of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston carried out a “comprehensive examination” of the Liverpool goalkeeper on 31 May, and after reviewing footage of the game and hearing Karius’s recollections, concluded the 24-year-old suffered a concussion during the match.
In a statement, Dr Zafonte said the concussion was linked to Karius’s performance in the final.
“At the time of our evaluation, Mr. Karius’s [SIZE=6]principal residual symptoms and objective signs suggested that visual spatial dysfunction existed[/SIZE] and likely occurred immediately following the event,” the statement read.
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[SIZE=6]“Additional symptomatic and objectively noted areas of dysfunction also persisted. It could be possible that such deficits would affect performance.”[/SIZE]
The statement added that Karius had displayed “steady improvement” since the injury and was expected to make a full recovery.
Karius has been held largely at fault for Liverpool’s failure in the European showpiece and came out to take responsibility for his errors, tweeting the following day: “Haven’t really slept until now… the scenes are still running through my head again and again… I’m infinitely sorry to my teammates, for you fans, and for all the staff.
“I know that I messed it up with the two mistakes and let you all down. As I said I’d just like to turn back the time but that’s not possible. It’s even worse as we all felt that we could have beaten Real Madrid and we were in the game for a long time.
“Thank you to our unbelievable fans who came to Kiev and held my back, even after the game. I don’t take that for granted and once again it showed me what a big family we are. Thank you and we will come back stronger.”
Merseyside Police have been investigating death threats made to the goalkeeper in the wake of the match.
Here’s the clip;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg4ZqHvUTa8
My two CBK cents: Spain & Real Madrid Captain Sergio Ramos, Mo Salah and then this? Mungu anakuona!!
