Chelsea star Jesse Derry has thanked everyone involved in his treatment after sustaining a head injury during his Premier League debut on Monday. The 18-year-old was a surprise selection by manager Callum MacFarlane into the starting XI for the Blues’ top-flight game against Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.
With Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho both sidelined after sustaining shock injuries during training, former Under-21 team head coach MacFarlane has put his faith in academy candidate Derry. Derry has been in excellent form with Chelsea’s academy this season, earning him several cameos in the FA Cup first team.
The entire Stamford Bridge crowd stood and applauded as Derry was carried away before being taken to St Mary’s Hospital, just three miles from Chelsea’s ground. Dery has since taken to social media to thank those who have supported her.
“Starting on my Premier League debut at Stamford Bridge was a dream come true. I would like to thank all the medical staff at Chelsea, everyone at St Mary’s Hospital, my team-mates and the fans for their incredible support,” Derry wrote on Instagram.
“I can’t wait to play in front of everyone soon.”
Interim head coach MacFarlane was asked about Derry after the game and said: “We’ve heard positive signs from Jesse and Rob (Sanchez was also sent off after a head collision with Morgan Gibbs-White) and we hope the Nottingham Forest players are OK as well. But yeah, I’m happy with Jesse’s performance.”
“I think he performed well while he was on the pitch, but he probably has more important things to think about now.”
Two serious clashes saw Chelsea lose 3-1 to Forest, resulting in four substitutions, two from each team, but Abbott was the only ‘concussion sub’ in the game in west London. Neither Derry nor Sanchez was sidelined as a “concussion sub,” but the Blues will still follow standard procedure for both players.
This has raised questions about Sanchez and whether he will feature in Saturday afternoon’s game against Liverpool at Anfield. The FA’s ‘Graded Return to Play’ (GRTP) protocol states: ‘This phased program will begin at midnight on the day of injury and Stage 1 (initial rest period) for all players will be 14 days unless they are in an enhanced care environment.’
In either case, progression to stage 2 of GRTP can only occur if the player has no symptoms. GRTP for FA includes six stages. Stage 1 is the initial rest period until symptoms resolve. If symptoms persist, this stage may need to be extended. ” Stages 2, 3, 4, and 5 are all “training-based activities” and stage 6 is “full training and return to competition.”
