Andre Villas-Boas put Hugo Lloris' long-term health at risk with his "dangerous" and "irresponsible" decision to let the Tottenham goalkeeper play on at Everton after being knocked unconscious by Romelu Lukaku. With 12 minutes of the 0-0 draw remaining, Lloris was accidentally caught on the head by the knee of Everton's Lukaku as he dived to collect a stray ball. The Frenchman required lengthy treatment after the incident, and looked set to be replaced by Brad Friedel, but he insisted he was fit to continue and Villas-Boas decided against making a substitution.
The Tottenham manager's actions have been condemned by brain injury charity Headway. Their spokesperson Luke Griggs said "we are hugely concerned that a professional football club should take such an irresponsible and cavalier attitude to a player's health, when a player - or any individual - suffers a blow to the head that is severe enough for them to lose consciousness, it is vital they urgently seek appropriate medical attention. A physio or doctor treating a player on pitch simply cannot accurately gauge the severity of the damage caused to the player's brain in such a setting as there may be delayed presentation of symptoms. By continuing to play, the player may have caused greater damage to his brain. He should have been removed from the game immediately and taken to hospital for thorough tests and observation."
Villas-Boas conceded after the game that Lloris could not remember a single thing about the incident. But the Portuguese boss defended the decision to keep the player on the pitch, citing a good late save from Gerard Deulofeu as evidence that he was correct to do so. The Tottenham manager praised the goalkeeper's "great character" for wanting to continue, but Headway believes Lloris should have been withdrawn immediately and rested for three weeks.
Problems with concussion are not commonplace in football, but rugby players from both codes have to deal with significant blows to the head on a regular basis. The problem became so worrying for Dr Barry O'Driscoll that he resigned from his role as medical advisor to the International Rugby Board. O'Driscoll, uncle of Brian O'Driscoll, resigned in protest at the decision to trial a new protocol for dealing with head injuries. The Rugby Football Union is so concerned about concussion that it is holding a conference at Twickenham this week with players' unions on the matter.
