Premiership Side Could Be In Trouble Over Treatment Of Irish Back-Row

“They need to get Dominic Ryan off the pitch now.”

Leicester Tigers suffered a second successive defeat over the weekend, but that may be the least of their worries.

The Premiership side may have to face questions from an independent concussion review group after the club did not subject Irish back-row Dominic Ryan to a head injury assessment (HIA) during their 24-11 defeat to Northampton Saints on Saturday at Franklin’s Gardens.

Former Leinster flanker Ryan made a cover tackle on George North in the 52nd minute and stayed down when his head appeared to collide with the Wales wing’s elbow. However, following an assessment from two Tigers medics, Ryan joined the subsequent scrum and completed the match.

To make matters worse Ryan had earlier come on for an injured Brendon O’Connor and things got complicated for the Tigers because Ryan was hurt while Mike Williams, was serving 10 minutes in the sin bin. Williams himself was a temporary replacement for Graham Kitchener, who had left the field for a HIA.

This left Leicester with limited options for cover and is perhaps why Ryan was forced to stay on, despite genuine concerns for his health and well-being. Tigers coach Geordan Murphy stated after the game that Ryan was simply ‘winded’ but the pictures suggest otherwise.

An independent doctor is currently in the process of looking over the second round of fixtures, with the Tigers likely set to have some questions to answer.

[Telegraph]

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