Arsenal are being condemned for their handling of David Luiz’s head injury as it emerged club medics concluded the defender was allowed to drive home as normal following his sickening collision with Raul Jimenez.
The clash, which occurred early in the first half, saw Wolves striker Jimenez stretchered off and taken directly to hospital for check-ups after he appeared to be out cold.
Luiz was allowed to play on despite sustaining a nasty gash on his hairline that required seven stitches, leading to fury from brain injury charity Headway, who have called for the introduction of concussion substitutes to protect players.
Wolves have since confirmed that Jimenez suffered a fractured skull and underwent surgery on Sunday night.
Luiz was eventually hauled off at half-time, with manager Mikel Arteta saying after the game that Arsenal medics completed all the necessary concussion checks before allowing Luiz to continue.
Importantly, Gunners club doctor Gary O’Driscoll, who is widely known to be one of the leading medics regarding concussion protocols, was clear that Luiz did not lose consciousness and was not concussed. Therefore, there was no necessity for concussion treatment to be enforced.
The reason for his substitution was due to the laceration to his head. But Arteta admitted Luiz was ‘uncomfortable’, prompting the decision to take him off in place of Rob Holding at half-time.
Nevertheless, Luiz was permitted to drive home as normal following the game as medics concluded he did not require further hospital checks or treatment. Luiz was instructed to inform the medical team if he felt ill during the night.
Headway released a statement on Monday expressing its anger at how the situation had been dealt with.
Luke Griggs, deputy chief executive at Headway, said: 'Too often in football, we see players returning to the pitch having undergone a concussion assessment - only to be withdrawn a few minutes later when it is clear that they are not fit to continue.
'That is the very reason why we urgently need temporary concussion substitutes in football. You simply cannot take a risk with head injuries.
‘They are not like muscular injuries where you can put a player back on “to see if they can run it if off”. One further blow to the head when concussed could have serious consequences.
'The question that has to be asked is had the concussion substitutes rule been in place, would Luiz have been allowed to return to the field of play? Would that extra time in the treatment room have led to a different decision being made?
‘The concussion protocol clearly states that "anyone with a suspected concussion must be immediately removed from play", while the sport continues to promote an 'if in doubt, sit it out' approach to head injuries.
'Time and time again we are seeing this rhetoric not being borne out by actions on the pitch. Something is not right. This cannot be allowed to continue. How many warnings does football need?’
Arsenal players are off on Monday, but medics will be in contact with Luiz following the head collision. But the Gunners’ handling of the situation has lead to significant criticism, particularly given his head was clearly bleeding during first-half.
Former England captain Alan Shearer also laid into Arsenal’s handling of the injury, saying: 'Football needs to get real. It needs to wake up. It needs to get serious, not next year, not next week, now.
'This has been going on too long. The protocols in football are not acceptable.
'If he has passed all the protocols, how on earth is he allowed to come back on with a wound bleeding through the bandage?’