Stuart Kettlewell in serious head knock warning as Motherwell boss asks 'would you rather a broken leg or brain injury?'

Stuart Kettlewell fears it’s going to take a serious head injury before officials begin treating mistimed aerial clashes with the same gravity as late tackles.

The Motherwell boss has doubled down on his plea for the game to get tough on clashes in the air after a series of incidents brought the matter into sharp focus. Kettlewell admits he carried on with concussion as a player before modern science revealed the lasting dangers of doing so. But he has slammed arguments that sinners are only trying to win the ball as “nonsensical”.

And he has asked what is more serious - a broken leg or a brain injury? The Fir Park gaffer first raised his concerns earlier this season when Well defender Paul McGinn suffered a smashed cheekbone after a collision with Kilmarnock’s Lewis Mayo at Rugby Park. Ref Matthew MacDermid waved play on in that incident but McGinn was ruled out for six weeks and had to wear a protective mask on his return.

Celtic ’s Alistair Johnston has missed his side’s last two games after being wiped out by Hibs’ Nectar Triantis in a challenge that was deemed worthy of a spot kick. But Kettlewell argues decisions are haphazard - despite VAR supposedly being installed to bring consistency.

Dundee’s Michael Mellon suffering what his club described a “significant head injury” in a clash with St Johnstone’s Liam Gordon last week and Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski was laid out by Hibs keeper David Marshall on Saturday.

Kettlewell said: “I need to make my point. What would you rather - a broken leg or a brain injury? I think right now we focus on what happens on the ground as opposed to a clash of heads.

“I have had a real concern with head clashes and aerial challenges for a while now. I watched a situation where