Cech undergoes skull surgery
Cech was seriously injured in Saturday's match
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Sunday, 15, Oct 2006 08:02
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has undergone skull surgery at a specialist neuro-surgical unit following Saturday's collision with Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt.
The west London club have said the operation at Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary was successful, but that it is too early to provide an accurate assessment of his overall condition.
Cech, 24, was knocked unconscious by Hunt's trailing knee in the opening seconds of the game at the Madejski stadium despite appearing to have both hands on the ball.
To make matters worse for Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, the Czech custodian's understudy, Carlo Cudicini, was also knocked out following a clumsy challenge by defender Ibrahima Sonko.
"Naturally everybody at Chelsea wishes Petr, and Carlo... a speedy recovery from their injuries," a club statement said.
Mourinho said after last night's game that Cech was "lucky to still be alive", and although he did not go as far as saying either Reading player intended to injure their opponents, he compared the incidents to Ben Thatcher's reckless challenge upon Pedro Mendes earlier this season.
The club added: "Chelsea FC has reviewed the video of both incidents. We endorse the post-match comments of Jose Mourinho regarding the seriousness of these incidents. Chelsea will be writing to the FA with our observations."
Royals boss Steve Coppell said his team would help the FA if it does decide to investigate the incident.
He explained: "We apologise to Chelsea for the injuries but I still think both players will be vindicated."
Despite Cudicini being discharged from hospital he is unlikely to be risked for Wednesday night's Champions League encounter with arch-rivals Barcelona.
Instead it could mean a baptism of fire for 31-year-old Portuguese stopper Hilario, who was signed on a free transfer from Nacional in the close season.
The Blues were faced with a similar situation three years ago when injuries elevated fourth-choice goalkeeper Marco Ambrosio to the first team in the Champions League semi-finals against Monaco.