Player welfare still a sideshow to results and broadcast deals in the Premier League

Eddie Howe reached for and quickly responded with a “really disappointed” when analysing Diogo Jota’s goal that sparked Liverpool’s 3-1 win at Anfield after Jonjo Shelvey’s opener.

The Newcastle manager “couldn’t believe what he was seeing” when referee Mike Dean waved play on despite Fabian Schar and Isaac Hayden colliding in the box with the latter remaining down as they jostled with Ibrahima Konate at a corner.

“It was clear to me that Isaac went down holding his head immediately and the game should have been stopped,” Howe said.

“Two players were down in the middle of our six-yard box and it has had a huge bearing on the game. The turning point was an obvious one.

“The game should have been stopped because the focus should have been on Isaac’s welfare. We had two players out who would have defended that cross.”

It is curious digesting the reaction because it is a mesh of “cost us a goal” and “endangered a player’s safety” with the weight clearly on the former given how many times the situation’s impact on the match is referenced.

It was even more baffling when Howe circled the importance of being extra careful with head injuries, but allowed Hayden to play on despite him being “dazed for four or five minutes after. I think it was a dangerous moment where we have to think of the players’ safety.”

Concussion protocols be damned.

Brain injury charity Headway point out the wording used by the manager is an indication action should have been taken:

“Concussion protocols are entirely clear. If a player is suspected of having suffered a concussion, they must be removed from the field of play and not be allowed to return.

“Being ‘dazed’ is a sign that something is not right and that a concussion may have occurred. In such situations, the right thing from a player welfare point of view would have been for Isaac Hayden to be replaced using the concussion substitution rule.

“If the temporary concussion rule that Headway has long been calling for been an option, it would have made it easier for the player to be assessed for a longer period. The fact that he was dazed after the game is of concern. Ultimately, we are yet again left saying ‘lessons need to be learned’ when it comes to concussion in football.”

We do need to think of the welfare of footballers more – and not just when a goal could have been prevented. It has been a bullet point in Fifa’s biennial World Cup plans, but elite conditioning experts have blasted through much of their outline.

The scheduling of domestic fixtures feeds more into broadcasting needs than rhythm, rest, recovery.

And amid a fresh Covid outbreak, it hasn’t been lost on players that their health has been a footnote during discussions on how to move forward. The fixture chaos has been flagged given the escalating postponements, with the calendar already squeezed due to the global showpiece in Qatar.

This has dominated the conversation, not concern over players that have tested positive or the fact that no training or match rhythm is a recipe for injury.

Clubs that are unable to rotate on account of limited numbers due to Covid absentees will find the same equation.

An ordinarily testing time of the football season has become all the more complex.

It is a growing annoyance that the anti-vaxxers among squads are also being inconsiderate of the welfare of their fellow professionals. The unvaccinated have been highlighted as a major reason behind the Omicron variant sweeping through the game here.

Jurgen Klopp and Ralph Hasenhuttl are two of a large group of managers advocating for all players to get two doses of the vaccine as well as a booster when eligible.

There is growing concerns and calls for an enforced break over the festive period for the game to be proactive over stopping the spread of the virus.

Some clubs have been pushing for any such intermission to be complemented with a programme to promote the uptake of jabs.