24 hours after this incident, Jérémy Billy has not fully recovered from his collision in the penalty area with Imbadilahi Ahamada, the La Roche VF goalkeeper. It was at the end of the match (82′). The Herbret striker remained on the ground for many minutes. The first medical examination diagnosed a concussion and slight vagal discomfort (brief and transient loss of consciousness). Yann Athéba, another Herbret player, was also impacted by the shock. He sees blurry in one eye. The day after this event, he confided.
Jérémy, how are you already?
My back and head still hurt… But that’s normal, given the violence of the shock. I have to monitor myself for 48 hours. Because of the slight vagal discomfort, the doctor told me that I had to wait 48 hours before I started to feel better. I shouldn’t have vomited… Although I have tingling in my legs, after the match, I started to come to my senses. I need to rest again. But there was more fear than harm. Fortunately…
Do you remember what happened?
At the moment, no. I didn’t know if I had taken Imbad (Imbadilahi Ahamada), another defender… I was told and I saw the images again. I see that I hit the ball with my head, but I don’t see Imbad coming, who hits me head-on. That’s why the shock was violent, because I couldn’t anticipate it. I didn’t even remember that Yann (Athéba) had been hit. I spoke to him on the phone today. He sees blurry in one eye and his nose hurts a lot. He has to go take exams.
“I’m a little nervous. It’s a fact of play that can change the outcome of the match.”
Looking at the images, there is a mistake, or not…
I’m not going to be objective, but for me, yes. That the referee doesn’t whistle, I can understand. I’m not the style of player who will destroy the referee. There are times when decisions don’t go our way. It’s part of football. However, I’m a little nervous (sic). It is a fact of play that can change the outcome of the match. It’s 0-1 for La Roche. If there is a penalty and we score, it makes 1-1, and there are ten last minutes of madness to play. But I am saddened, because I have to go out and as the coach has already made the five substitutions, my team ends up with ten. This changes everything…
You don’t have to be sad. It’s not your fault…
I know. But in relation to my team and the supporters, even if La Roche had control of the game, if the penalty had been whistled and scored, there was something to do during the last ten minutes…
Is this the first time you’ve experienced such a violent shock?
This is the first time I’ve had vagal discomfort after a shock. The last time was five years ago, in Châteaubriant. At the time, I was playing in La Roche-sur-Yon. I had hit the guard head-on and cracked my ribs. I had suffered, too.
When the commitment is total for an attacker, can we say that football is a combat sport?
Completely. At all positions, it’s a contact sport. As an attacker, you often take hits. It’s part of the sport and that’s why I love playing this position. There is a technical confrontation, but it is also physical.
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Before becoming a footballer, did you play a combat sport?
In my youth, I did five years of judo, but I was better with a ball (laughs). However, what I learned in judo, like falling and rolling onto my shoulder to avoid hurting myself, prevents me from falling like a pancake to the ground. Unfortunately, that’s what happened to me against La Roche VF.
Your distant practice of martial arts has given you an offensive game like Zlatan…
For sure. My style is more academic. I am a physical, contact player who likes depth and playing with his back to goal. I don’t use judo to send my foot 2.50 m from the ground, like Ibrahimovic could do. Carrying out this gesture is a little harder for me… (Big laugh from Jérémy).
2024-03-24 12:44:36
#Soccer #Jérémy #Billy #concussion #fear
