World Cup’s concussion check failure

ON YER HEAD Ball danger FOOTBALLERS at risk of concussion during this year’s World Cup were not checked properly in two-thirds of cases.

Those showing two or more signs of the brain injury should not be allowed to play on until given the all-clear by a physio, according to governing body FIFA.

But a physio was called for an assessment in only 33 of the 90 cases at the tournament in Russia, a study has found.

Co-author Dr Ajay Premkumar, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, said it resulted in FIFA’s new rules on concussion being “ineffective”.

He added head injuries were harder to spot because medics had to distinguish between real symptoms and play-acting.