VILLA IN THE DOCK OVER ‘DIZZY’ McGINN
Brain injury chief says ‘incident does not look good’
BPlayers should not put themselves, or be allowed to be put, at such risk
rAin injury charity headway have questioned Aston Villa’s handling of John McGinn’s head injury, with the midfielder set to miss tonight’s Carabao Cup clash with Chelsea due to concussion.
McGinn was a 40th-minute concussion substitute in Villa’s 3-0 win over everton on Sunday, with manager dean Smith saying the Scotland international told staff he felt ‘dizzy’ during the game.
headway chief executive Peter McCabe yesterday said it was wrong that McGinn himself seemed to make the final call and that temporary concussion substitutes — the protocol in which a player is temporarily replaced for ten minutes while assessed in private — should be introduced into football.
‘here you have a player who sustained a clear blow to the head after just six minutes,’ said McCabe.
‘Around 30 minutes later, the player himself is asking to be removed because, according to his own manager, he felt “dizzy” — a clear sign of concussion.
‘The way in which this incident played out does not look good.’
The Football Association’s concussion protocols read: ‘At all levels in football, if a player is suspected of having a concussion, they must be immediately removed from the pitch, whether in training or match play.’
Villa say they followed the correct head injury protocol.
McGinn had collided with everton defender Michael Keane after six minutes and fell to the floor, holding his face. After assessment, it was thought McGinn had hurt his left cheekbone.
Then in the 19th minute, McGinn was further treated by doctors and deemed fit to continue. he appeared to take pills before the medical staff left the pitch. Then, in the 38th minute, after a challenge with demarai Gray left him on the ground, McGinn signalled to referee Craig Pawson and was substituted.
McCabe added: ‘The risk of playing on after sustaining a concussion is that a secondary blow to the head can exacerbate the initial injury to the brain. Players should not put themselves, or be allowed to be put, at such risk.’
Villa boss Smith raised doubts on Saturday over who had made the decisive call. ‘he got a whack on the head after five minutes,’ said Smith. ‘he felt he was OK to continue. he continued.
‘Around about the 26th-minute mark, he got another whack on the head, i think it was. There was a break in play and he came to alert us to it. Our doctor kept an eye on him but he called it then and went: “no, i’m too dizzy” — and went down. So it was something we were well aware of, and our doctor was on it.’
Meanwhile, emiliano Buendia is set to make his first appearance for Villa since his quarantine stint. Along with goalkeeper emiliano Martinez, Buendia returned from an enforced ten-day stay in Croatia after spending time in countries on the UK Government’s ‘red list’ during the recent international break while playing for Argentina.