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A worrying incident for the former Force prop
Planet Rugby: 28th Apr 2015, 09:43
The battle between Premiership giants Northampton and Saracens was supposed to serve as a great advert for the game but sadly the outstanding effort of both sides was overshadowed by what appeared to be another shocking incident of a serious injury not being managed correctly.
Just a few short weeks after Wales wing George North was allowed to play on after a clear head clash and suspected concussion was missed by medics during the Six Nations clash with England, Saracens prop Kieran Longbottom was given the green light to continue despite suffering a similarly alarming injury.
Longbottom, making his long-awaited return from a long-term foot injury, appeared to pass out under the pressure of a second half scrum.
In front of a 30,000 crowd at stadium:mk and a bumper TV audience, he collapsed as the scrum broke up and his face hammered into the turf. Replays suggested he may have also suffered a mild fit with his body appearing to convulse as he lay on the ground.
His Saracens team-mate Kelly Brown, to his immense credit, immediately registered Longbottom's plight and went to his aid and thankfully he appeared to swiftly recover consciousness.
After suffering such an alarming injury you would have thought that Longbottom would have been withdrawn – but sadly no. After a check by the Saracens medics he was soon packing down again.
You could perhaps understand the naturalised Australian-born prop wanting to remain in the mix having sat out for so long, and also been linked with a possible promotion to the England ranks, but that decision was not his to make.
Quite simply he should have been withdrawn by the medics, his coaches or just dragged off the field by anyone present who saw the incident unfold on a TV screen.
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