http://bit.ly/noSEcT Chelsea's Didier Drogba, above, falls heavily after the Norwich Town goalkeeper John Ruddy, below, inadvertently struck the striker in the face at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Pictures

Didier Drogba was taken to hospital soon after getting knocked unconscious in a collision with the Norwich City goalkeeper John Ruddy during Chelsea's three-one victory at Stamford Bridge. The striker was carried off on a stretcher and into a waiting ambulance midway through the 2nd fifty percent but scans later exposed no significant harm and the 33-yr-aged striker was given the all-obvious.
The incident took place when Drogba and Ruddy jumped to problem for a cross from the left in the 65th moment and the goalkeeper inadvertently struck the striker in the experience. The impact was so forceful that the Ivorian appeared to have misplaced consciousness even just before he landed head-very first on the ground.
Gamers from the two teams instantly called for health-related guidance and Drogba was treated on the pitch for eight minutes prior to becoming carried off amid grave issue for his nicely-staying. He was out chilly for "really some time", according to the Chelsea supervisor, André Villas-Boas, who praised the speedy reaction of the players and health-related employees.
"Didier is showing indicators of recovery," said a relieved Villas-Boas. "He lost consciousness totally on the pitch and I have to be extremely, extremely grateful to my people, the Norwich gamers and the health care workers for reacting so speedily to a potentially risky predicament. Happily they arrived on time to deliver Didier again to consciousness. We're awaiting the complete exams on his concussions but hopefully nothing is incorrect."
Villas-Boas did not blame Ruddy for the clash. "You expect bodily get in touch with from any sport and things can take place," he mentioned.
There was bodily get in touch with off the pitch, too, as the Norwich supervisor, Paul Lambert, shoved the Chelsea fitness coach, José Mário Rocha, as the latter celebrated in front of the visitors' bench right after Chelsea won an 81st-moment penalty. A kerfuffle involving staff from both sides ensued. Lambert proposed it was Rocha – or "the person with the stopwatch about his neck, I will not know who he is" – who sparked the melee. "He was disrespectful, likely into my technical area. I never realize Portuguese but if he understands Glaswegian, he'll know what I stated to him."
Villas-Boas replied: "It would discover it very unusual if any of my workers had been disrespectful of Norwich – they had been just showing joy: if Paul won't be able to handle that, I'm sorry. Unlucky."
The contentious penalty was granted right after Ruddy rushed off his line to intercept a through-ball prior to Ramires, but the Brazilian arrived first and went down underneath the goalkeeper's challenge. Ruddy was sent off and Frank Lampard scored the spot-kick to set Chelsea two-one up. That only extra to Lambert's sense of grievance. "[Ramires] has missing management of the ball. He's likely to floor before he received it. The referee has only one just take on it but I believed it was harsh. It was the turning position of the game. I undoubtedly won't be able to fault my players' performance due to the fact we had been superb."
Norwich looked as very likely as the residence group to win the match after Grant Holt struck in the 63rd moment to cancel out José Bosingwa's fifth-moment opener. Juan Mata, the Spain midfielder signed from Valencia for £23.5m in midweek, added a lot-needed ingenuity to Chelsea's play right after coming on as 67th-moment substitute and crowned a promising efficiency with a neatly taken target in the 11th minute of stoppage time. Chelsea also announced the signing of another attacking midfielder, the Mexico Under-20 worldwide Ulises Dávila from Chivas.
Villas-Boas insisted this was nonetheless their best show of the year. "We seemed much better general on a 90-moment overall performance," he said. "We had two excellent second halves versus Stoke and West Bromwich Albion but right here we had a great reliable ninety-moment efficiency. Not excellent, of class, but it can give you some indications for the foreseeable future."