Didier Drogba was rushed to hospital on Saturday after an aerial clash with Norwich keeper John Ruddy left him unconscious an hour into Chelsea's 3-1 victory.
Leaping for a cross into the Norwich penalty area, both players had eyes only for the ball when Ruddy inadvertently punched Drogba as the keeper tried to clear.
The striker appeared to be unconscious as he fell, crashing to the turf in front of the Matthew Harding Stand and he did not move as ambulance staff and Chelsea's medical team raced towards him, encouraged by Ruddy's urgent beckoning.
'Didier is a little bit better and showing some signs of recovery,' said manager Andres Villa-Boas immediately after the game.
'I am grateful both to my players, the Norwich players and the medical staff for reacting so quickly to a potentially very dangerous situation. They arrived there in time to bring Didier back to consciousness.
'He was unconscious for quite some time, a couple of minutes, I think. I didn't see the incident up close, but it looked nasty from the bench. It was natural, physical contact, though, the sort that happens in a game, and we know that these things can happen, so we must praise the response of everyone involved.'
Drogba was taken to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington where scans showed no signs of injury and he was later allowed home at his own request.
Ruddy was not to blame but his eventful afternoon also ended prematurely when he was sent off for a professional foul on Ramires, conceding the penalty which saw Chelsea regain the lead.
They went ahead through Jose Bosingwa, only to be hauled back by Grant Holt's acrobatic strike.
After Frank Lampard regained the lead from the spot, Juan Mata scored a debut goal in added time. Norwich boss Paul Lambert was enraged by the 'disrespectful' attitude of Chelsea's fitness coach Jose Mario Rocha when Ruddy was dismissed.
Rocha ran into the technical area to demand that referee Mike Jones show Ruddy a red card, leading to an ugly clash.
'You'd better ask the guy with the stopwatch what that was all about,' said Lambert.
'He came hurtling into my technical area, and that's disrespectful. I don't know what he said, I don't speak Portuguese, but if he understands Glaswegian then he'll know what I said.'
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