Luiz clashed heads with Wolves striker Raul Jimenez early into Sunday's match resulting in a lengthy delay of around 10 minutes as paramedics and medical staff saw to both players; club say all protocols were followed but due to the cut the defender will be unavailable on Thursday
Wednesday 2 December 2020 06:44, UK
Davis Luiz is set to miss Arsenal's Europa League game against Rapid Vienna on Thursday as he continues to recover from the head injury he sustained against Wolves.
The Brazilian defender clashed heads with Wolves striker Raul Jimenez early into Sunday's match, resulting in a lengthy delay of around 10 minutes as paramedics and medical staff saw to both players.
Jimenez was stretchered off and later underwent an operation on a fractured skull while Luiz was allowed to continue with a bandaged head after receiving seven stitches in a three-inch wound.
Although he returned to the pitch, he was withdrawn at half-time with the club stating the substitution was due to bleeding and discomfort from the cut.
The club have since released a statement defending the decision to allow Luiz to continue, saying 'protocols were completed' with the player showing no signs of concussion.
However, due to the deep cut he received, he will be unable to feature for Mikel Arteta's side at the Emirates on Thursday evening.
The statement continued: "David was visited at home by our club doctor on Monday during the scheduled day off and reported to our training centre on Tuesday.
"Close care of David's cut and general monitoring of his wellbeing will continue in the coming days and David continues to be in good health.
"The cut to David's head will take some days to heal and therefore he will not be available for Thursday's match. We will continue to closely support and monitor David's progress.
"Further team news on the rest of the squad will be published on Wednesday morning (UK time)."
Brain injury association charity Headway released a statement on Monday expressing its "anger and disappointment at football's continued failings to protect its players from concussion" and reiterated its view that temporary concussion substitutes are "urgently" needed.
Headway questioned whether Luiz would have been cleared to continue if concussion substitutes were in place.
Luke Griggs, deputy chief executive at Headway, told Sky Sports News: "When you have such serious impacts such as that, it's hard not to suspect a concussion may have occurred.
"The protocols say, if a concussion is suspected then the player should be removed from the field of play.
"The medical teams I'm sure did things in the best interest of the player but you've really got to question whether these concussion protocols are fit for purpose.
"Concussion is notoriously difficult to diagnose, particularly in a pressure environment on the pitch in just three minutes. It's an evolving injury and the symptoms can take some time to present themselves.
"We've been calling for football to finally move with the times and introduce temporary concussion substitutes which would allow for more detailed assessments of a player, off the pitch.
"We've got to make sure the message is out there that we're not taking a chance on these things."
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) said its Concussion Expert Group (CEG) had met on Wednesday and said it was now preparing the ground for competitions to test new protocols for concussion substitutes, with trials set to begin as early as January next year.
"The members (of the expert group) recommended further consultation, working with the FIFA medical subdivision and other stakeholders, to facilitate trials to start from January 2021 for any competition that is interested in taking part," a statement on the IFAB website read.
The statement also said: "The CEG again emphasised that the protection of players is the main goal and that a clear and uniform approach is needed, which can operate effectively at all levels of the game.
"Therefore, the group agreed that applying an 'if in doubt, take them out' philosophy would be the best solution to safeguard the health of football players."
