LONDON (AP) – Lying flat on the Vicarage Road pitch, it seemed Anthony Martial’s game could be prematurely over.
The Manchester United forward had clashed with Watford defender Daryl Janmaat’s head as they both soared to reach the descending ball. While Janmaat made the connection for the header, Martial felt the full force of the impact with his Premier League opponent.
But after receiving attention from United’s doctor, Martial was able to continue playing in Sunday’s game – for a short time, at least. Seven minutes later, Martial was off the field for good.
Although it was a crunching tackle that brought Martial down again in the 34th minute, the Frenchman was still clearly disorientated from the earlier collision. After United’s medical team carried out further checks on the player’s vision, Martial left the pitch clutching his forehead with his left hand.
It immediately raised questions about why Martial had remained in the game, if concussion was suspected. The English Football Association’s guidelines , introduced in November, are clear: “There must be no return to play on the day of any suspected concussion.”