Spurs: Lloris fit to continue

Tottenham Hotspur insisted Monday Hugo Lloris was fit to play on following a head knock at Everton after the club came under fire for not substituting the France captain. Spurs were criticised by FIFA's medical chief for letting Lloris remain on the field when 'concussed' following a collision with Everton's Romelu Lukaku during the closing stages of Sunday's goalless Premier League draw at Goodison Park. But a Spurs statement issued Monday said: "The club can confirm that Hugo Lloris underwent a precautionary CT scan and was given the all-clear and travelled back to London last (Sunday) night. "The France goalkeeper suffered a knock to the head following a collision with Everton forward Romelu Lukaku in the closing stages of yesterday's (Sunday's) Premier League encounter at Goodison Park and was cleared to resume playing after examination by the club's medical team." Tottenham's head of medical services, Wayne Diesel, added: "Once the relevant tests and assessments were carried out we were totally satisfied that he was fit to continue playing." But with Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas admitting Lloris couldn't remember the incident, a sign of concussion, England's Professional Footballers' Association called Monday for any player who loses consciousness to be substituted automatically. English football's current rulebook leaves such decisions down to medical staff but PFA deputy chief executive John Bramhall said in a statement: "It is important to take the pressure off the players, club medical staff, and the manager -- removing the need for them to make a very difficult decision. "If anyone suffers a severe trauma to the head and loses consciousness, then they should be required to leave the field of play automatically." Earlier, Professor Jiri Dvorak, global football governing body FIFA's chief medical officer, told Britain's Press Association: "The player (Lloris) should have been substituted. "The fact the other player (Lukaku) needed ice on his knee means it's obvious the blow was extensive. "It's a 99 percent probability that losing consciousness in such an event will result in concussion." After Sunday's match in Liverpool, Villas-Boas said Lloris wanted to play on but added: "He doesn't remember it so he lost consciousness. It was a big knock but he looked composed and ready to continue." Although not a major issue in football, concussion has become a hot topic in rugby union. So concerned was Dr Barry O'Driscoll, uncle of Ireland rugby union great Brian, by what he saw as a failure to take the problem seriously he resigned from his post as a medical advisor to the International Rugby Board. The debate about the issue has prompted England's governing Rugby Football Union to hold a conference about concussion with players' organisations at Twickenham this week. Source: AFP