Ben Dinnery

Fri 25 February 2022 16:00, UK

IFAB must introduce temporary substitutes and an independent doctor to deal with concussion incidents like Robin Koch’s at Leeds United.

That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.

Koch was assessed for concussion after a collision of heads with Scott Mctominay in the 4-2 defeat to Man United last Sunday (20 February).

The German defender initially played on but was taken off a few minutes later.

Leeds issued a statement on Monday (21 February) confirming that the 25-year-old continues to be treated in line with concussion protocols.

The PFA have once again demanded the introduction of temporary substitutes in response to the incident, per Sky Sports that same day.

And Dinnery added his voice to the calls for law changes to handle potentially life-threatening concussion incidents.

“The difficulty always comes down to not having enough time to make a decision,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.

“You also have to ask, do these players need to be assessed independently? At the end of the day, it comes down to the protocols and the guidelines.

“How many times have we seen this before? The guidance is ‘if in doubt, sit them out’. What the hell does that mean?

“You can speak to a player and from a clinician’s perspective, he can be absolutely fine. In your mind, there would be no doubt that he was fine.

“But then symptoms could present themselves further down the line.

“The implementation of temporary substitute, for me, is the only viable strategy.

“The worry is that we are going to see a serious incident. You pray that this doesn’t have to happen in order to see some action.”

Koch did not feature as Leeds were thumped 6-0 by Liverpool on Wednesday (23 February).

The 25-year old has made nine appearances in an injury-hit season so far.

In other news, Danny Mills suggests that Luke Ayling may lead Leeds United dressing room revolt as “crushing” claim issued.