Kevin De Bruyne was taken off after a nasty clash of heads with Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger in the second-half of Manchester City's Champions League final.
De Bruyne was later pictured sitting on the City bench, holding an ice pack, with his eye clearly bruised.
Despite what we've seen recently in the Premier League with 'concussion substitutes', this did not apply in Saturday's final.
English football implemented the plans approved last year by the game’s law-making body, Ifab, in regards to having a one-off substitute for a player that suffers with potential concussion.
The Premier League and the FA Cup both had trials with the extra sub throughout the 2020/21 campaign, as well as the Women's Super League and Women's Championship, but the UEFA tournament did not run the same trial.
The European football governing body decided not to undergo the same trial process in the Champions League, Europa League, or the upcoming men's European Championship.
However, they did choose to trial concussion subs in the final of the Under-21 Euros earlier this year.
Often this season we've seen players suffer after a clash of heads, and despite their instinct of wanting to continue on the pitch, club doctors have rejected that, with the person's safety being paramount.
The Ifab measures say “if in doubt, sit them out” and “where there is any doubt about a player having been concussed, the player should be protected by being permanently removed from the match”.
On the matter, a Fifa spokesman said: “The opportunity for the concussion substitutes trial has been made only since December 2020 and for many competition organisers the regulations were already established for the 2020-21 season.
"It is anticipated that a rise will take place for the forthcoming season, also considering that the trial is available until August 2022.
“Fifa will be using the opportunity in as many competitions as possible to support the research in relation to this topic and to have as much information as possible when looking at any proposals to change the Laws of the Game.
“This is an open trial open to everyone that is willing at all levels of the game, which is a departure from standard procedure in such trials. This shows the respect and priority that Fifa and the Ifab place on this matter.”
