Concussion rules must be tackled after Leeds United’s Junior Firpo FA Cup incident

It was worrying for Leeds because it raises the very strong possibility he will not be back at the London Stadium for an important Premier League game. All Premier League games are important in Leeds’s position.

But it was much more worrying for the wider game because it suggests again the concussion protocols football have in place at the moment are not doing the job intended.

Firpo came off the field in the 69th minute of the game, clearly suffering the effects of a collision with his own goalkeeper, Illian Meslier, late in the first half. He had played on for nearly half-an-hour of football, or three-quarters of an hour after the incident before sitting down on the turf and accepting his race was run for the day.

As he slowly walked off the field and again as he sat on the bench he frequently waved his hand in front of his face to suggest his vision was blurred, then headed down the tunnel so the medics could take a better look at him.

Years ago, we would have praised the Brazilian full-back for sticking it out when his team really needed him. Leeds are being absolutely ravaged by injuries at the moment, with full debutant Sam Greenwood becoming the fifth Whites striker to pick up an injury. Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips, Jamie Shackleton, Charlie Cresswell, and Pascal Struijk are out, too, and it would be a surprise if any were available for Sunday’s game, which Diego Llorente is suspended for.

In years gone by we would have praised Firpo for his courage in playing on but back then we were younger and even more stupid.

Whether Firpo suffered a concussion or not is unclear at this stage but if he did, he cannot play against West Ham. In that respect, the rules are very good. But those governing the most crucial time, the initial half-hour or so, are woefully inadequate.

This is not a criticism of the Leeds medical staff, nor of Firpo himself.

During the few minutes when Firpo was assessed on the field, he obviously satisfied the experts there were no obvious signs of concussion after banging his head. But we know those signs are not always immediate, and that a noisy football stadium with players and fans impatient for a game to get back underway is not the best environment to make a proper judgement.

In a perfect world, Leeds coach Marcelo Bielsa might have played it safe and used one of his five available substitutes there and then to take Firpo off the pitch. Except in reality, even that is far from perfect.

Bielsa, Firpo and everyone else connected with Leeds wanted to win the cup tie and if they were told there were no signs of concussion, then calling on a bench which had three senior players who were being rested and a collection of youngsters would jeopardise that. There was no specialist left-back on the pitch, although there was Stuart Dallas, who had a spell there as one of the three positions he played in his half-game appearance. Instead, he came on for the injured Greenwood at the interval.

Allowing sides to make an extra two permanent substitutions where concussion is suspected by the medics is a step in the right direction by football’s lawmakers, but only a small one. You did not need to be a qualified medic to see Firpo’s bang to the head was worth a longer look.

That incident, like many others, showed what we need is the option of temporary substitutes who can come back off if after a lengthy, considered assessment in the dressing room it is decided the player is in a fit shape to return.

Of course we have to be on the lookout for sharp practices – football is often told it should learn from rugby union and ‘Bloodgate’ is a case in point – and exactly what is happening needs to be far better communicated to supporters than concussion substitutes currently are (kudos to Huddersfield Town for a rare exception at home to Blackpool on Boxing Day), but we need to start erring more on the side of player welfare.

At the time, the (mis)use of the video assistant referee system to allow Manuel Lanzini’s decisive goal to stand might have felt like the most important thing that happened in that game, but it was not.

From John Charles to Gordon McQueen via Jack Charlton, Brendan Ormsby, Frank Worthington and too many others to mention, the list of great footballers ravaged by brain injuries is growing upsettingly long and if we just ignore what happened on Sunday, it will be on our consciences.