Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton has revealed he has “no memory” of last season’s FA Cup final and says he played part of the match with a concussion so severe that he was unaware of the scoreline.
Wharton was forced off in the final few minutes of Palace’s historic 1-0 win over Manchester City at Wembley in May 2025 after being struck on the back of the head by a fierce shot from Kevin de Bruyne. He missed the team’s post-match celebrations after being taken to hospital for checks.
The incident happened after 73 minutes, with Palace ahead, and Wharton was checked by club medical staff before playing on until the 87th minute, when he was replaced by Will Hughes.
A year on, the 22-year-old says he now has no “recollection of the game” aside from Eberechi Eze’s 16th-minute winner and goalkeeper Dean Henderson’s penalty save to deny Omar Marmoush in the first half.
“I’ve watched a million clips back and I sort of know what happened, but there’s no memory or recollection of the game. I vaguely remember Ebs (Eze) scoring and Dean (Henderson) saving the penalty, but everything else is missing,” Wharton said in an interview with Scouted magazine.
“It’s weird, because apparently I answered all the questions they asked me initially. I knew who I was, where I was, what the score was, but the concussion must’ve kicked in after because when I came back onto the pitch, I kept asking Chris (Richards) what the score was. He’s trying to concentrate, and I’m asking stupid questions.
“I don’t know how I played on for ten minutes after that.”
The result ensured Palace won their first ever major trophy. They are aiming to follow it up by winning this season’s Conference League, with Spanish club Rayo Vallecano awaiting in the final on May 27 in Leipzig, Germany.
