• “Nobody wants to push a player through with a concussion,” Klopp said. “It is difficult. It is not that easy because you need two sources, one is the doctor, one is the patient.
• Milner’s injury comes after Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez took a blow to the head in an accidental collision with team-mate Tyrone Mings at Newcastle on Saturday.
Image: HANDOUT
Jurgen Klopp said concussion protocols are taken “really seriously” after revealing James Milner will miss Sunday’s league game at Tottenham.
Milner, 36, had to be substituted early in the second half because of a head injury during Liverpool’s 2-0 Champions League win on Tuesday. The Reds boss said that Milner reported a problem when the players returned to the pitch after half-time.
“Nobody wants to push a player through with a concussion,” Klopp said. “It is difficult. It is not that easy because you need two sources, one is the doctor, one is the patient.
“For me it was clear; he got a real check on the pitch and he was fine when it happened. In the dressing room in our meeting, ‘Millie’ was completely fine and, after calming down, came out into the floodlights and was like ‘Whoa, what is going on here?’
“He realised and then that is the most important source, the player realised ‘that is not good’ and that is when we stopped and he sat down and we took him off.”
“If a doctor feels he is not all right, then he is immediately gone, there is no chance for the player to say ‘No, I am fine’.”
After Tuesday’s match, Klopp initially said midfielder Milner “seems to be fine” having suffered the blow to the head in the first half.
This week, the Professional Footballers’ Association renewed calls for temporary concussion substitutions, saying the current protocols are “jeopardising player safety”.
Football’s lawmaker, the International Football Association Board, was urged to make changes before the season.
Premier League rules allow for an additional permanent concussion substitute to the regular five replacements if a player sustains a head injury but there is currently no provision in European football.
Milner’s injury comes after Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez took a blow to the head in an accidental collision with team-mate Tyrone Mings at Newcastle on Saturday.
The Argentine initially stayed on and received lengthy treatment before being replaced shortly afterwards. Villa said that all protocols were followed with regard to medical treatment and Martinez then experienced delayed concussion symptoms.
Klopp said that while he is happy with the current concussion guidelines, he also conceded finding better ways to treat head injuries is not easy.
“It takes quite a while between getting the concussion and it kicking in, I am not sure 15 minutes is the time to wait for it,” he said. “People tell you after an hour it kicks in. The way we do it I think is the right way.
“It doesn’t happen that often, to be 100% honest. We can talk about it like it happens all the time and the boys are constantly in danger but they are not.
“But if it happens we have a solution for it, much better than ever before in football’s history. Is there space for improvement? Probably. But I don’t know how.”