Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez saw a severe head injury force him off against Everton with concussion protocols likely needing to be followed

Emiliano Martinez could feature in Chelsea's Premier League clash against Tottenham next Saturday but that seems unlikely if he has suffered a concussion. The 34-year-old took a heavy blow to the head from Jarrad Branthwaite and was subsequently stretchered off in the Blues' 2-0 win over Everton.

Mike Penders replaced Martinez in the Chelsea goal and helped see out the clean sheet. Despite the strong display, Martinez's health was the priority with Xabi Alonso able to offer a positive update after the game.

He said: "What we know is that he left the stadium conscious. Right now he's in the hospital doing precautionary tests. So we need to wait, and, for sure, hopefully it won't be too bad, but we need to wait at the moment."

The best-case scenario would be that Martinez has not suffered a concussion, but the 10-minute delay while he received treatment and speed of the collision suggests he has.

At elite-level football, a return to action can be managed on day 7 - which would be next Saturday - and that is when Spurs visit Stamford Bridge.

However, Martinez would have not trained throughout the week and it is all dependent on if he comes through a six-stage 'return to play' procedure unscathed. The initial phase involves a 48-hour rest period with minimal physical and 'cognitive' activities, such as working and screen time.

According to the FA's guidelines, this should be followed by "a staged and graduated return to full daily activities". Light football training is permitted during this stage but nothing should be undertaken to "worsen existing symptoms more than mildly or produce new symptoms".

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The four subsequent stages consist of football-specific exercise, non-contact training, full-contact training, and ultimately a complete return to match action.

Players diagnosed with a concussion very rarely feature in the next fixture, with Nico Gonzalez having suffered such an injury this season and sitting out Newcastle United's following match.

Chelsea host London rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge in their next Premier League encounter, with the match scheduled to take place under the lights next Saturday.

While some uncertainty remains surrounding Alonso, he will definitely be without club captain Reece James for that fixture after the full-back underwent knee surgery earlier this week, an operation expected to sideline him for a few months.

Alonso has, however, been boosted by the return of Moises Caicedo, with the midfield maestro proving instrumental in their 2-0 victory at Everton. Martinez also produced a string of fine stops prior to his early exit, with Mike Penders stepping in to help secure the three points.

It was a Pedro Neto double that earned Chelsea the win, with the Portuguese winger dedicating his brace to both of the club's goalkeepers.

He said: "In his [ Emiliano Martinez's ] honour. We needed that. We did a very good game. Emi deserved this. Mike [Penders] deserved this as well. We are really happy."