Thursday, March 1, 2007

John Terry's head

Via Steve Nuttall:

John Terry was carried off during the Carling Cup final after suffering a head injury. Some sources cite FA regulations stating that a concussed player must convalesce for 10 days before being allowed to play again; the FA are currently saying that 'all head injuries are different' and deny that there's any mandatory rest period. They are, however, insisting on full medical clearance before allowing Terry to play again.

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In this case, even if the rules do say there's a mandatory 10-day rest period, I think the FA are acting sensibly. The rule (if it exists) is presumably there to protect players from being rushed back before being fully recovered from a head injury, and it is rather silly to say that every brain needs ten days to recover. I'm really trying hard to resist the obvious joke that follows from that; I'll leave it for readers to fill in.

At best, this could be used as a precedent for the FA abandoning a nonsensical rule. Let's hope they do that more often.

2 comments:

Bill Clay said...

I think its most probably a case of Chelsea doing what the hell they like and the FA sitting back and letting them.

I can understand the rationale for some kind of rest period (if only for protective legal reasons) but like all injuries, recovery periods are different for different players under different conditions. Their is also no way to enforce this really without FA approved medical teams coming in to argue against club medical teams which considering the stealth with which the FA normally move would all take place after the ten day period anyway.

Anonymous said...

I've heard of a mandatory rest period after a concussion in Rugby Union but never in football.

I can remember plenty of players getting concussion and returning for the next match without any mention of a forced period of rest. Sounds like the media trying to put a one rule for Chelsea, one for everyone else spin on things.