Three days after Lee Keegan was concussed during a collision with Eoin Cadogan on the opening weekend of the National Football League, the consensus is that the player should have been substituted immediatley rather than being allowed to remain on the field.
Actually, that consensus was pretty much immediate following the clash. The case for his removal from the game became even more unambiguous when he was pictured on his hands and knees before being helped from the pitch by two members of the Mayo backroom team.
One of those who aided him from the pitch was Dr. Sean Moffatt, the man with the responsibility of advising Mayo manager Stephen Rochford on whether or not the player should remain in the game or be replaced.
Speaking to the Irish Times, Dr. Kevin Moran, a consultant surgeon who sits on the GAA's Medical, Scientific and Welfare committee says that Keegan should have been removed from the game immeditalely. However, he also absolved Dr. Sean Moffatt of any negligence in the matter.
Obviously, in retrospect, the player should have been taken off immediately. No question about that. Once the Cork player was taken off immediately and the Mayo player wasn't, I suppose it highlighted it even more. I only saw it on television but it seemed to me clearly that Lee Keegan did not want to leave the field. You could see him protesting both with Sean Moffatt and with Maurice Deegan.
Again, it's easy to be wise in retrospect but in that situation, Sean should have gone to the manager and said, 'I'm not happy, the player needs to come off the field.' And then it becomes the manager's responsibility. Those are the guidelines from Croke Park.
There is no question in my mind here of Sean Moffatt having been negligent. Absolutely none. His major concern has always been player welfare. I have huge sympathy for him and there but for the grace of God go all of us who are team doctors. He came out and put his hands up and said he should have taken him off. I think that was very honest and honourable of him to do that.
Earlier that day on Newstalk, the the subject of Moffatt had come up with an appearance by former Mayo manager James Horan on Off The Ball's review of the Sunday sports pages.
Speaking about the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final between Kerry and Mayo in Limerick, during which Aidan O'Shea and Cillian O'Connor clashed heads, Horan explained the process which he and Moffatt went through which allowed the midfielder and forward return to the game.
We're lucky that we have an extremely good medical in Mayo who are back in this year under the guidance of Dr. Sean Moffatt. So we went through all the protocals that are there and I remember turning around to Sean and asking 'Is it yes or no, can these guys go on?' That's the only decision I need, you tell me. So we got the all clear from Sean and that's good enough from me.
I think that's the way it has to be. It's a medical call. You hand it over, it comes back and you act on those decisions.
You can listen to James Horan on Off The Ball below.
Picture credit: Diarmuid Greene / SPORTSFILE
