Alan Shearer has again called for temporary substitutions to be brought into football after former Liverpool defender Neco Williams suffered a disappointing end to his World Cup campaign.
Williams, who joined the Reds' academy at Under-9s, was forced off midway through Wales' final Group B clash with England with a potential concussion. The full-back was replaced by Burnley defender Connor Roberts with just 36 minutes on the clock after being knocked to the ground shortly after taking a Marcus Rashford piledriver to the head.
The 21-year-old, who made the move to Nottingham Forest from Anfield this summer, was hailed for his bravery in putting his body on the line to get in the way of the Manchester United forward's effort from range as England huffed and puffed in search of an opener that would secure their place into the Round of 16 as winners of Group B.
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However, after the 21-year-old plunged to the ground shortly after originally choosing to carry on, manager Rob Paige finally chose to substitute Williams, who was visibly upset at the decision and had tears in his eyes. But that decision occurred 13 minutes after the right-back had suffered the initial impact to the head.
The incident raised further questions about the concussion rules in elite-level football, with BBC commentators Jermaine Jenas, Guy Mobray and Danny Gabbidon all insisting that the judgment of whether to continue playing should be taken out of the hands of athletes and instead enforced by the associations' doctors.
And former England striker Shearer, who has campaigned for changes to the concussion protocols in football, once again made the call for temporary changes to be introduced after seeing Williams struggle.
"I would say to IFAB what on earth are you waiting for?" Shearer told the BBC. "Everyone is under pressure then to make a decision, you’ve got the doctors and physios on the pitch trying to buy time. If they were able get him off for 10 minutes, assess him, bring someone on then decide rather than be put under huge pressure. What on earth are IFAB waiting for? Do it now."
The injury brought Williams' World Cup campaign to a sad end, with Wales knocked out following their defeat to England.
It has been an emotional few days for the Nottingham Forest defender while he has been out competing in the Middle East, with Williams taking to social media to reveal that his grandad had passed away on the eve of Wales' opening fixture against the United States last Monday.
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