Massachusetts General Hospital have confirmed that Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius suffered concussion during his team’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.

Karius was at fault for two of the goals during that loss, throwing the ball too close to Karim Benzema on the first occasion, with the French forward nipping in to score. He then allowed a Gareth Bale long shot to drop into the net after with should have been a routine save.

Sergio Ramos is believed to have caused the concussion, having clattered into the German stopper after a corner to Real Madrid early on in the second half.

At the time, Karius stayed down for a short time, before carrying on with the game. Benzema’s opener came just minutes after.

Medical confirmation

Last Thursday, the Liverpool medical staff were concerned about Karius, and so sent him for a scan in the US while he was on holiday in the country. That scan confirmed their fears.

Massachusetts General Hospital issued a statement so as to avoid any confusion and ill-informed reports.

The statement read: “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.

“At the time of our evaluation, Mr. Karius’s principal residual symptoms and objective signs suggested that visual spatial dysfunction existed and likely occurred immediately following the event.

“Additional symptomatic and objectively noted areas of dysfunction also persisted. It could be possible that such deficits would affect performance.”

Karius is not expected to be harmed in the long-term by the injury, but will continue to be monitored.

The statement continued: “We also note that 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.

“We expect that with treatment and by following prescribed activity protocols he will continue to improve," the statment concluded. "We have encouraged vigilance and an emphasis on safety in his eventual return to full activity.”

Karius has remained on holiday following the results of the scan having not been selected to play for Germany in the World Cup. Liverpool return to pre-season training in the first week of July.