Is heading a football bad for your health?

Headed goals by Harry Kane and Harry Maguire were among those which propelled England to their best World Cup performance since 1990.

But can repetitive heading cause damage to the brain and lead to longterm health problems?

A new study of 300 former professional players aims to answer the question.

The plan is to put the explayers, aged between 50 and 85, through a series of tests designed to assess their physical and cognitive capabilities.

There will be clinical examinations and data will be gathered on the players' career in the game and lifestyle factors.

This will allow comparisons between defenders and centre forwards and other players who tend to head the ball less often.

The study will be carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine ( LSHTM), Queen Mary University of London and the Institute of Occupational Medicine.

The test results will be compared with those from a general population study known as the 1946 Birth Cohort which has monitored the ageing process in a group born in that year.

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The new study will be similar to one which the Rugby Football Union embarked on in 2016 to assess the long- term impact of concussions experienced by former players in England. ball

Both are funded by the Drake Foundation, a notforprofit organisation.

Lead researcher Prof Neil Pearce, from LSHTM, said: “We know that there are increased risks of neurological disorders from head injury. However, we don’t know much about the risks from concussion in football, and we know almost nothing about the longterm effects from heading the ball repeatedly.