Whatever the Premier League is doing about head injuries, it isn't working - The Warm-Up

TUESDAY'S BIG STORIES Headache Ad/> About fifteen minutes into Leeds' loss to Manchester United, Robin Koch banged his head against the rampaging form of Scott McTominay, did a fair amount of bleeding, and was issued with a large head bandage in the Terry Butcher style. Fifteen minutes after that, he felt woozy, sat down, and was substituted. He will now miss Leeds' game against Liverpool tomorrow.

Premier LeagueWe’ve got a title race, and the great Maguire mystery — The Warm-UpYESTERDAY AT 08:16 According to Leeds, Koch had passed all of the on-field tests that the Premier League's protocols demand as part of a concussion check. This leads us to one obvious conclusion: the protocols are bobbins. Or, as the players' union puts it: «The injury to Leeds United’s Robin Koch demonstrates again that the current concussion protocols within football are failing to prioritise player safety.» That's fancy talk for 'bobbins'.

The PFA go on to reiterate their call for temporary substitutes when dealing with head injuries: for players who bang their heads to be allowed to leave the field until such time as a delayed effect becomes clear, or doesn't, and for a replacement to cover them in the meantime. Like rugby, or American football: those sports where the battering of head into head is even more important to the experience. This seems sensible.

(The policy, not rugby. Rugby is not sensible.) It also runs entirely counter to the way football conceives of substitutions, which is perhaps why it hasn't happened yet. The current model — when you're off, you're off — works very nicely for tactical changes, and for injuries that are immediately apparent.