Players Should Know

French physios treated Pavard and allowed him to play on despite his later confession that he was out cold for over ten seconds. “I took a hell of a shock. I was a little knocked out for 10 to 15 seconds. After that it was better.”

Football should consider eliminating heading, the leading researcher into dementia in the sport has said, after new evidence provided “the missing link” between repeated heading and neurodegenerative disease.

“These measures have been developed following studies with coaches and medics and represent a cautious approach whilst we learn more. We are committed to further medical research to gain an understanding of any risks within football, in the meantime this reduces a potential risk factor.

The heading of the ball was banned in the US in 2015, for children aged 10 and under, after a lawsuit was filed against the US Soccer Federation by a group of concerned parents and players.

Christoph Kramer lifted the trophy but half of his time on the pitch is a blank. Kramer took a knock in the 17th minute but played on until just after the half-hour mark, a 14-minute spell of which he has no memory. After the blow, Christoph asked the referee: ‘Is this the final?’

"Many people don't know this, but that affected me for a really long time. I had dizziness and headaches.I think I suffered from that head injury for about nine months."

Dennis Viollet, Bobby Charlton and Johnny Giles heading during Manchester United training in 1960. Charlton’s family recently revealed he had been diagnosed with dementia. Photograph: Mirrorpix/Getty Images

Worryingly the research, which compared data from 40,000 female high school players in Michigan with that from a similar number of male footballers, also found girls were 1.5 times less likely to be substituted if they suffered a potential concussion.