Mumbai City FC right-back Amey Ranawade was taken away from the pitch in an ambulance after what looked like a head injury in first-half stoppage time in the Indian Super League (ISL) final against ATK Mohun Bagan on Saturday.
The Indian Super League later tweeted that Ranawade was in stable condition. "News coming from the hospital is that Amey Ranawade is in a stable condition. He is still under observation," ISL tweeted from its official handle.
Late in the first half, Ranawade and Bagan left-back Subhasish Bose clashed near the touchline almost in front of the Mumbai City bench. Bose got up immediately but Ranawade didn't and immediately the Mumbai City bench and the players reacted, exhorting the medical personnel to step in. The cameras moved away from the prone Ranawade but there were images of Bagan's Manvir Singh praying as was Mumbai left-back Vignesh Dakshinamurthy.
Tiri covered his face in his shirt and for the time Ranawade was treated, rivalries were forgotten. Tiri and Hernan Santana were seen chatting and Bagan's medical personnel were seen helping their counterparts from the league and Mumbai. After over five minutes, cheers went up as Ranawade stood up possibly after a concussion. And immediately slipped.
Ranawade was almost forced into the ambulance and referee Tejas Nagvenkar blew an end to the half which had three minutes of added time.
{{/usCountry}}Ranawade was almost forced into the ambulance and referee Tejas Nagvenkar blew an end to the half which had three minutes of added time.
{{/usCountry}}The incident left the Mumbai players shaken at the break, with Bartholomew Ogbeche saying it took a couple of minutes for the players to recompose at the start of the second half. "We wanted to win it for Amey and we did," Ogbeche said after the game.
Head coach Sergio Lobera said the half-time talk revolved around Ranawade. "Our focus was on Amey. It was a very difficult situation. I told my players to focus on the game because Amey is strong and he wants to come back on the field. So we need to win it for him," Lobera said.
Ranawade remained part of Mumbai's celebrations, with Ahmed Jahouh walking around with the 23-year-old Indian's No. 4 jersey post game.