One Crystal Palace player was forced to miss his side’s trophy celebrations after they beat Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final.
Palace lifted their first-ever major trophy at Wembley through Eberechi Eze’s first-half goal.
City’s Omar Marmoush, meanwhile, saw his penalty saved by Dean Henderson shortly before the interval, with the Palace goalkeeper making a number of other important stops.
But as Palace celebrated their Wembley success, one of their key players was in a different part of the stadium.
Midfielder Adam Wharton was substituted in the second half, shortly after being hit on the back of the head by a fierce shot from Kevin De Bruyne.
Wharton was struck by a Kevin De Bruyne shot in the FA Cup final (Image: FA)
He was not taken off immediately, instead only being removing from action shortly after being on the end of a hard tackle from Claudio Echeverri.
Although there appeared to be little concern about his wellbeing at the time, Fabrizio Romano has reported that he was undergoing concussion tests while his Palace team-mates were lifting the FA Cup trophy on the Wembley pitch, and did not receive his medal either.
Before his substitution, Wharton was one of Palace’s star performers – after doubts prior to the match that he may not even be fit to take part.
Image: Twitter/@StatmanDave
The England midfielder missed the 2-0 win over Tottenham last weekend through an ankle injury, but returned in time to play a key role in helping his side to win their first major trophy.
It is also the first major trophy in the career of 21-year-old Wharton, who came through the academy at hometown club Blackburn Rovers before moving to Palace in January 2024.
The midfielder, a keen cricketer in the Lancashire leagues before deciding to commit to professional football, was called up to Gareth Southgate‘s England squad for Euro 2024 and, with current boss Thomas Tuchel present at Wembley, will hope to have earned his way back into the Three Lions setup.
