What happens when footballers get head injuries?

The premier football league has decided to offer further guidance on head injuries in football. when a footballer suffers a serious head injury, doctors and Physiotherapists will now have the final say on whether a player should continue or leave the field of play, either in a game or in training.

It has always been assumed that this would be the case but in the heat of the moment a decision by a manager or the player’s unwillingness to come off may have previously swayed the decision.

The advent of headsets allowing communication between the medical staff on the pitch with the player and the management team on the bench has further complicated decisions.

Eamonn Salmon, chief executive of the Football Medical Association confirmed that “when a player is injured he becomes a patient and subsequent decisions should be at the sole behest of the medical staff”.

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CSP Frontline, 3 September 2014, Vol 20, No. 15.