Marcelo Bielsa ‘convinced’ Leeds United handled Robin Koch injury correct
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has fired back at the backlash surrounding Robin Koch’s head injury.
The German was allowed to continue playing for 15 minutes after receiving treatment for a heavy blow to the head against Manchester United, but was later forced off the field with concussion symptoms.
Bielsa was adamant the medical staff followed protocols set by the Premier League in their handling of the head injury.
“We all did exactly what corresponded,” Bielsa said as per Football Daily.
“We did nothing different to the protocol, everything according to the protocol.
“I was convinced it was just the bleeding from the cut because that was the first conclusion after the evaluation the player had.
“After when he manifested different symptoms, he was substituted. The protocol that is applied is what generates whether he should be substituted or not.”
Enough is enough
Common sense surely has to prevail in scenarios such as this one.
Yes, Leeds’ medical staff might have followed the correct protocols, but player welfare needs to come before any rule book.
Koch was clearly in no state to continue, he had blood gushing from his head and as soon as he re-entered the field you could tell he wasn’t 100% with it.
Club’s medical staff might have to start making the decision themselves rather than blindly following protocols that clearly aren’t working and listening to a professional footballer who definitely isn’t going to want to leave the pitch and never mind make the call himself.
This is an increasingly growing problem that football supposedly has under control and it needs fixing.
Head injuries are no joke and what is it going to take for those in charge to wake up and deal with the issue properly rather than hiding behind protocols.
In other Leeds United news, Marcelo Bielsa has shown the severity of Leeds United issues – Graham Smyth.