Diop had himself been a first-half replacement after a 16th-minute injury to Angelo Ogbonna. “The decision to allow Diop to return to the field of play after being assessed for concussion in just two minutes, while still on the pitch, shows just how deeply flawed this new protocol is,” said Headway’s chief executive, Peter McCabe. The FA believes that the risk with temporary substitutions is that a player could return to the pitch after a 15-minute assessment with an undiagnosed concussion and pick up a second concussion which would be even more serious. The governing body’s view is that if there is any doubt over a player after a head injury, they should be permanently subbed out. It is also understood that West Ham are confident that they followed the correct protocols and that Diop was accurately assessed on the pitch by their medical staff.

Source: The Guardian February 10, 2021 14:28 UTC