Tottenham will check Heung-Min Son’s head injury after being forced off during the Champions League win in Marseille

Tottenham will assess the extent of the head injury suffered by Heung-Min Son on Wednesday, after the South Korean was forced off in the Champions League win in Marseille.

Son went off in the first half at the Stade Velodrome after a collision with Chancel Mbemba and looked very shaky as he left the pitch.

Spurs went on to book their place in the last 16 with a last-gasp 2-1 victory as second-half goals from Clement Lenglet and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg overturned Mbemba’s first-half display.

But the injury to Son is a concern, especially with the Premier League clash against Liverpool coming up Super Sundaywhile he could have concerns about the upcoming World Cup.

Assistant head coach Cristian Stellini, who is standing in for the suspended Antonio Conte, said: “At this moment we don’t know. We have to wait for a medical assessment. Sonny is feeling better now. I saw him in the dressing room, he celebrated with us.

“At this moment we don’t know. We have to wait for a medical assessment and we have to wait until tomorrow. We’re not sure if he’s concussed. It’s Son’s face. His eye is a little swollen.”

The PFA renews calls for temporary replacements for concussions

Son’s head injury was not the only setback to his knock as the English side battled for victory in the Champions League on Tuesday night, as Liverpool’s James Milner also went off with a similar knock in his side’s 2-0 win over Napoli.

The two head injuries took place in the same week that the PFA has renewed requirements for temporary concussion substitutes to be introduced into the match, allowing teams to make an interim substitution while checking a player’s head injury away from the pitch, before changing the switch. if the player is good to continue.

Current regulations, which the PFA describe as “putting the health and safety of players at risk”, only allow for permanent concussion substitutions where a team is granted a further change if a player is forced off with a head injury.

“Permanent substitutions do not allow medical teams to assess a player with a potentially serious brain injury in an appropriate environment,” said Dr Adam White, head of the PFA’s dedicated Brain Health department.

“The rules as they stand create an extremely challenging situation and offer no support to medical professionals.”

UEFA has not integrated the existing concussion compensation rule into major European competitions such as the Champions League, Europa League and Nations League.

Dr White added: “This situation needs to be addressed immediately. As an absolute minimum UEFA, as one of football’s major bodies, needs to lead by example and introduce the permanent concussion rule available. This is a matter which the PFA will raise with UEFA Immediately .”

Lloris praises Tottenham’s “mentality” in Marseille

Hugo Lloris believes Tottenham’s Champions League comeback win in Marseille highlighted the growing personality of his teammates.

Antonio Conte’s side reached the last 16 of the Champions League as Group D winners after a nerve-wracking climax.

The Londoners, who only needed to avoid defeat to go through, endured a first-half siege and trailed to Mbemba’s header in stoppage time before the break. However, Lenglet proved to be Tottenham’s savior when he headed in his first goal for the club in the 54th minute to equalise.

Hojbjerg then sealed victory in stoppage time to put Tottenham top of the group and leave Marseille, who were top at one stage of the evening, fourth and out of Europe.

“To be honest, we expected that kind of game. The Stade Velodrome is a very difficult place to handle and I think we showed great personality,” Lloris said.

“Clement (Lenglet) scored a very important goal in France, in front of the French people. The second goal from Pierre (Hojbjerg) confirmed things for the group. We didn’t play well in the first half. Maybe we didn’t know what would happen if we attack, it was not good for us to play this kind of first half.

“We talk in the dressing room – we start the second half with a lot more personality and aggressively. We play a very good second half.

“It was a tough night, a great fight and even more psychological fight because we could feel that in the first half a team played without fear of losing, it was Marseille, and in the second half we face a team with fear of losing. “

Merson: Spurs through but needs to improve

It was a result that hardly looked possible in the opening 45 minutes as Spurs appeared dazed and confused by Marseille’s relentless onslaught.

Spurs were a different proposition after the break and took control after Lenglet’s equaliser. Hojbjerg hit the bar for the visitors but Marseille should have scored late on when Sead Kolasinac somehow missed an open goal with a header.

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson believes Tottenham must improve if they are to progress in the competition after reaching the last 16.

“The Spurs couldn’t put three passes together in the first half,” Merson said Soccer Special. “As soon as they started making more passes, the game opened up for them and they were a threat. They managed the game well.

“Tottenham did very well in the second half but when you get to the last 16 you can’t keep giving teams the edge. It will catch up with you sooner rather than later.

“When the shackles are off and the fear is taken out of the game, Spurs have some good players who can move the ball very quickly. But they don’t, they sit back. Kane was literally 35 yards from his own goal in the first half. They had no outlet , they have to take chances sometimes.It’s too negative for me.

“You can’t keep giving teams the edge. They’ve been lucky in a couple of games like Bournemouth on Saturday and again today against an average team in Marseille.”

“Conte is very tired – he lived the game in the crowd”

Spurs’ place in the last 16 was not guaranteed until Hojbjerg won it with the last kick of the game to secure top spot in Group D.

With Marseille needing a win to go through and defeat knocking Spurs out, it was a night of danger for the Premier League side in a hostile environment in Provence.

Conte, who celebrates a year in charge on Wednesday, was forced to watch from the stands because of his red card following the VAR controversy against Sporting Lisbon last week, which meant Tottenham’s qualification fate went down to the last game.

And the Italian was put through the wringer as his side produced a listless first-half performance, deservedly falling behind to Mbemba’s header.

The second half was a different story though and Lenglet put Spurs back in control with a header of his own in the 54th minute.

But with Marseille needing just a goal to send them out, it was a nervy night until Hojbjerg’s late intervention. And it was not a night that Conte enjoyed.

Stellini added: “I had the opportunity to talk to Antonio. He was very tired. He lived the match in the crowd, it’s not normal. Maybe he spent more energy in the stands than he normally spends on the sidelines.

“It was a very difficult first half. In the difficulties we did not lose our minds. We stayed in the game. It was terrible the goal we conceded because from a corner they took it quickly and we were not prepared.

“It’s an important lesson for the future. But in the second half something changed and we talked in the dressing room about the energy we need in the second half and how we have to press them and counter the game. In this kind of stadium and this kind of game , a knockout, it’s not very easy.

“Astadion was very hot in the first half and sometimes it is normal to give the opponent the opportunity to play, to use the energy you have in the second half. It can also be a strategy. We have to try to play everything. the 90 minutes at the same level. “

Which teams have already made it to the round of 16?

• Bayern Munich*
• Benfica
• Chelsea*
• Club Brugge
• Dortmund
• Frankfurt
• Inter Milan
• Liverpool
• Manchester United*
• Naples*
• Paris Saint Germain
• Postage*
• Real Madrid
• Tottenham*

*indicates sides that will definitely be seeded in the Round of 16

What comes next?

Tottenham have three more games before the World Cup. They face Liverpool on Super Sunday this weekend, live on Sky Sports from 4pm; kick-off 16.30. They will then face Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday 9 November before their final Premier League game against Leeds on Saturday 12 November; kick-off 3 p.m.

Marseille have two more Ligue 1 games before the break – they face Lyon on Sunday before a trip to Monaco on Sunday 13 November.

The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League will be held at 11:00 on Monday 7 November at the House of European Football at UEFA’s headquarters in Switzerland.