A leading sports physician has called for temporary substitutions to be introduced for players who suffer head injuries on the pitch.

Recently, Rangers defender Leon King suffered a concussion following a collision with St Mirren forward Curtis Main. The 18-year-old received lengthy treatment on the pitch before being stretchered off.

A club statement the following day read: “Leon King suffered a concussion in the second half of yesterday's match, and was taken to hospital for assessment.

“Leon was discharged from hospital late yesterday afternoon with advice. Today, Leon is sore but well. He will now rest completely and follow a graded return to play under the supervision of the medical team.”

Dr Rajpal Brar is a Los Angeles-based sports scientist and gave an insight into the effects of a concussion and what a graded return means for the highly-rated young defender.

He said: “Medically, it’s known as a mild traumatic brain injury. When you have that injury there are chemical changes in the brain which then lead to symptoms.

“It’s not really as much physical damage in the brain, it’s a chemical change and that can lead to symptoms like nausea, vomiting, vision loss etc. That’s what is causing a lot of those symptoms and typically for most people those will resolve within seven to 10 days but that time is critical to allow the brain to recover.

“A graded return means you start off with low-level activity and then you want to assess how the person responds. It’s not as simple as having no symptoms and having symptoms. There are some variants in there, so light activity. If an individual then clears that you then increase the activity and intensity a little bit every day. Again, assessing for symptoms until finally, they’re able to complete more heavy or football-related intensity and then eventually they’re cleared.

“Basically, you’re using activity as a barometer to stress the brain and the physiology to see how that person responds.

“It always depends on the severity but typically on average you’re looking at that seven to 10-day return timeline and I believe with FIFA with the World Cup going on it’s at least a seven-day minimum. That is what the standard is but it varies not just on the person’s symptoms but their previous history.

“If you have a history of multiple concussions you may have a lower threshold so you might want to be a little bit more conservative. All those variables come into play so it’s not always a one size fits all approach.”

Rangers Review: (Image: NQ)

Dr Brar feels strongly that not enough due care and attention is being carried out when tending to players who suffer blows to the head on the pitch and has called for a rule change in the game.

He said: “We know that you can’t do a valid concussion test on the pitch, you just can’t. There’s too much noise and too much pressure.

“The person needs to be taken off the pitch. A test takes at least 10 minutes but that would require a temporary substitution.

“I don’t blame the providers. They’re doing the best they can with what they’re given and they’re under a lot of pressure from coaches who will want the player to play and the player wants to play.

“In an ideal environment it would be the medical team making the decision but that’s not how it works, unfortunately.

“The biggest thing would be can you put in a temporary substitution rule? Even Neco Williams recently played 10 minutes after suffering a head injury and then came off.

“You’re setting up, not just players for failure but you’re setting up your providers for failure too because you can’t do a valid test that quickly, it’s just not possible.

“Having looked at it for a number of years that is the best balance in terms of player safety.”

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