Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius was concussed during the Champions League final, American doctors have said.
The 24-year old had scans at a hospital in Boston on May 31 where staff concluded that he had sustained a concussion during the match, an injury that may have affected his performance.
Karius made two high profiles errors during Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in Kiev on May 26.
“After carefully reviewing game film and integrating a detailed history – including his reported present and immediate post-contact subjective symptoms – physical examination and objective metrics, we have concluded that Mr. Karius sustained a concussion during the match May 26, 2018,” a statement from the Massachusetts General Hospital read.
It said that Karius had experienced “visual spatial dysfunction” immediately after the blow and that “such deficits would affect performance”.
“Mr. Karius has reported significant and steady improvement since the concussive event, and we expect him to make a full recovery based on the results of the examination“, it added.
Footage from the final showed Karius suffering a blow to the head during a collision with Sergio Ramos just after half-time, minutes before his error allowed Karim Benzema to put Madrid ahead.
The German was also at fault for Madrid’s third goal later on, when he allowed a Gareth Bale shot to slip through his hands.
Karius was on holiday in the US when Liverpool staff asked him to undertake the tests.
The goalkeeper, who joined Liverpool from Mainz in 2016 was subject to a barrage of abuse following the game – including death threats, apologised for his mistakes after the final.
“I know that I messed it up with the two mistakes and let you all down,” he said. “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.”
