Jan Vertonghen injury puts concussion protocols into question

Jan Vertonghen was forced out of the clash against Ajax after suffering a head injury in the first-half.

Concussion protocols are under scrutiny as Jan Vertonghen was allowed back onto the pitch after suffering a head injury in Tottenham’s Champions League match against Ajax. The injury was a result of a collision between Vertonghen, teammate Toby Alderweireld, and Ajax’s goalkeeper André Onana.

The collision immediately left Vertonghen with a bloody face that took a while for Tottenham’s medical team to clean up.

Incredulously, the player was allowed to play on by the team doctors. Unsurprisingly, Vertonghen was unable to last much further and had to be subbed off soon after. The scariest part is when he was standing near the sideline signaling that he could not continue, he started to keel over and almost fell to the ground. He had to be helped off the pitch by club staff.

As reported by The Guardian, Mauricio Pochettino said, “First of all, we must protect the player’s integrity. Our medical staff followed the protocol and they decided it was possible to restart the game and possible for Jan to play again. But, of course, Jan started to feel unwell and we needed to change him.”

Some assumed that the medical failed to follow protocol because they gave the all-clear for Vertonghen to come back on the pitch. But according to UEFA’s regulations, the concussion protocol states, “In the event of a suspected concussion, the referee stops the game for up to three minutes, to allow the injured player to be assessed. A player will only be allowed to continue playing on specific confirmation by the team doctor to the referee of the player’s fitness to carry on.”

Mateu Lahoz, the referre, did what the protocol required and according to Pochettino, so did their medical staff. If that is the case, then it means that the protocols are not good enough considering what happened to Vertonghen moments later.

Tottenham were later able to confirm that the player did not suffer. However, according to a report by Yahoo! Sport, the player is due at the club’s training ground to receive further assessment of his head injury. The report also states that Headway, a brain injury charity, has called for the inclusion of “temporary concussion substitutions” which would give the medical staff even more time to assess a player and not have to worry about making a diagnosis with the result or game in mind.

Concussions are tricky to diagnose and while some players may not show immediate signs of being concussed, these symptoms may show up at a later time. Protocols need to be improved and the medical staff should take the player’s word that they are okay with a grain of salt when they suffer a head injury.

Teams still seem to think about the game when dealing with such injuries. We don’t even have to look too far for an example. Napoli was heavily criticized after keeper, David Ospina, stayed on after suffering a concussion and would collapse shortly thereafter. Before that, Lyon keeper, Anthony Lopes stayed on after colliding with Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho in a Champions League game. He was subbed off later on and the player mentioned he had little recollection of even being subbed off.

Fortunately, Vertonghen, and the other players mentioned, appear to be, or will be, okay. But unless these issues are taken more seriously by all involved, it may only be a matter of time before something bad happens because of lax protocols.