Premier League agree concussion substitutes trial but with no start date yet announced

The Premier League has announced that it will trial the use of concussion substitutes during matches, however, no start date has yet been announced.

Amid growing concerns about the impact of head injuries and heading the ball in football, the English top-flight confirmed today that it will implement a trial period in which teams can make up to two changes in a match for players who have suffered or are suspected of having a concussion.

These substitutions will be additional to the three substitutions currently allowed in Premier League fixtures, and teams will be allowed to sub a player with concussion even if they have already made all their regulation changes.

The statement on the Premier League website read: "Premier League shareholders today formally agreed to introduce the International Football Association Board's (IFAB) additional permanent concussion substitutions trial.

"The trial will be confirmed when the implementation of the reporting processes, including private medical information, has been resolved with IFAB and FIFA.

"With player welfare the Premier League's priority, the protocols will allow a maximum of two concussion substitutes to be used per team, with the opposition side able to use the equivalent number.

"The additional concussion substitutions may be made regardless of the number of substitutions a team have made already.

"The trial is a result of the IFAB's consultation with stakeholders and recommendations from their concussion expert group to allow additional substitutions for players with actual or suspected concussion."

It follows the Premier League saying in December that it had agreed in principle to trial concussion substitutes among new protocols to protect players from head injuries.

They said at the time that the new rules could be implemented as early as this month, but no start date was mentioned in the statement.

The decision comes after increased coverage of the long-term impact of head injuries in football, with Sir Bobby Charlton among a number of former players having been diagnosed with dementia linked to heading the ball during his career.

This season, Wolves striker Raul Jimenez suffered a fractured skull following a collision with Arsenal defender David Luiz. The Brazilian centre back continued playing until half-time after the incident in the fifth minute, despite visibly bleeding from the head.

Former Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen, meanwhile, recently revealed that he was still feeling the effects of a head injury for nearly a year after suffering a knock during a match.