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Vertonghen head injury: Pochettino defends staff as charity calls for temporary substitutions
Mauricio Pochettino has defended the Tottenham medical staff over their handling of defender Jan Vertonghen’s head injury during their Champions League semi match match against Ajax.
Meanwhile, Brain injury charity Headway has called for the introduction of "temporary concussion substitutions" to allow medical staff to make proper assessments of players with head injuries.
The Belgian defender suffered an accidental clash of heads with teammate Toby Alderweireld during the first half, leaving him with a bloodied nose and requiring lengthy treatment.
After being attended to for several minutes, Vertonghen was cleared to return to action after Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz received clearance from club doctors.
However, the Spurs man almost immediately withdrew himself from the game after signalling he could not continue.
The 32-year-old was visibly struggling as he left the pitch and needed assistance from staff to return to the changing room.
Following the incident, Tottenham received widespread criticism on social media for allowing the player to continue having suffered such a serious injury.
READ MORE: Jan Vertonghen suffers horrific head injury as questions raised over concussion protocols
READ MORE: Van de Beek strikes to help Ajax earn crucial lead against Tottenham in Champions League semi-final
However, Spurs boss Pochettino insists the correct procedure was followed by his staff.
“I wasn’t involved. I wasn’t involved. It was the doctor’s decision,” Pochettino claimed. “I think it’s so important things, the rules and the protocol are there, and our medical staff follow the protocol.
“I was never involved. The decision was the doctor and the referee asked.
“He goes in. In the next action, we need to put him out because he didn’t feel well.”
UEFA’s new concussion procedure, introduced in 2014, states:
"A player suffering a head injury that requires assessment for potential concussion will only be allowed to continue playing after the assessment, on specific confirmation by the team doctor to the referee of the player's fitness to do so."
Headway, the brain injury charity, says teams ought to be allowed to replace players so they can receive more extensive treatment to decide whether they are fit to continue or not.
Luke Griggs, spokesperson for the charity, said: "We believe the time has come for football to introduce temporary concussion substitutions that would allow for longer off-pitch assessments”
"Assessing a player for three minutes - or even five, as was the case with Jan Vertonghen - does not allow for medical staff to make a reliable diagnosis, particularly when this is conducted on the pitch under the gaze of tens of thousands of fans eager for the game to resume.
"The pressure on club medical staff is enormous and unfair, particularly in such high-stakes games such as a Champions League semi-final."
Speaking after the game, the Tottenham manager provided reassurance that his player wasn’t in too bad shape but accepted he will require further assessment on Wednesday.
“He’s OK, he is good, he was walking away. He was more relaxed. I hope it is not a big injury or a big issue.
“You know very well you need to keep eyes watching him and analysing him because it was a big knock. But I hope it is not a big issue. At the moment, it is OK.”
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