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Football is under the microscope again following a sickening clash of heads between two Premier League players on Sunday.
It comes after Wolverhampton Wanderers” Raul Jimenez had to undergo surgery for a fractured skull, following a collision with David Luiz at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.
Jiménez and Luiz collided while jumping for the ball at a corner early in Wolves’ 2-1 win on Sunday.
Jiménez has wheeled off the field wearing an oxygen mask and taken to the hospital.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says the Premier League should have a clear protocol for when there is a clash of heads or concussion.
While their goalkeeper Ederson says there should be automatic substitutions for players who are concussed.
Dr. Vincent Gouttebarge, Chief Medical Officer FIFPRO, the body that represents professional players, says his organisation has been fighting for change but the game’s organisers have not budged on this issue: “We have been looking at other sports and how they have evolved with the concussion debate and we don’t understand why nothing has been done in football.”
The last Premier League player to sustain a similar injury was Everton defender Michael Keane, who had a hairline fracture of the skull in August 2018 and was out for a month.
Before that, Ryan Mason fractured his skull in a clash of heads while playing for Hull at Chelsea in January 2017. He returned to training in May of that year but didn’t play another competitive match and was forced to retire in February 2018 on the advice of neurologists.
Goalkeeper Petr Cech sustained a depressed fracture of the skull in 2006 when he slid in at the feet of an opponent while playing for Chelsea. He required emergency brain surgery and wore a head guard in matches for the rest of his career.
You can watch the interview with Gouttebarge in the media player at the top.
