Dunfermline star Sam Fisher will consult a concussion specialist at Hampden on Tuesday as he seeks the green light to return to training.
And Pars boss James McPake has insisted no risks will be taken with the defender, while calling for Scottish football to follow rugby’s lead in tightening up rules around head injuries.
Former Dundee youngster Fisher has been out of action since sustaining nasty head and facial injuries, along with a concussion, during the Fife derby defeat to Raith Rovers on January 2.
The 22-year-old was caught by the boot of team-mate Chris Hamilton after 20 minutes and required lengthy on-pitch treatment before leaving the pitch on a stretcher.
He was subsequently taken to hospital for checks before being allowed home with multiple fractures to his nose and seven stitches below his eye.
It was the second time in the space of just over a fortnight that Fisher had sustained a concussion, having also taken a blow to his head in the defeat to Partick Thistle in mid-December.
On that occasion, he sat out one game before returning a fortnight later.
Manager James McPake is determined to tread carefully with the stopper after two head injuries in such quick succession.
McPake said: “We’re being very careful with Sam.
“His face was in a bad way but the biggest problem has been the concussion, not so much his nose or the cuts to his face.
“He’s going in to Hampden to see a specialist concussion expert. It’s something we’re doing to make sure we’re giving him the best of treatment.
“We want to do that with it being a head injury and his second concussion.
“He was still getting headaches last week but he’s feeling good now and we’ll see if he might get the all clear to train again on Wednesday.
“Thankfully people are more aware of these sorts of injuries now. But I still think we’re not aware enough.
“It’s just my personal opinion, but I think it’s something that should be treated a lot more seriously when a player does get any sort of head injury.
“I know there are protocols in place now but you’re still having to dig deep to find the best way to treat the player.
“I might be speaking out of turn and upsetting people but I think in Scottish football and in football in general there should be better things in place for head injuries.”
Head injury ‘governance should be stronger’
As specified by ‘sportscotland’, the national agency for sport’s, ‘if in doubt, sit them out’ campaign, return to playing in football should be ‘graduated’.
That process is based on players being ‘symptom free’ and can theoretically kick in after just a short rest.
However, in rugby, where rules are more stringent, the earliest a player can return to contact training is 14 days after the concussion occurred and they cannot play in a match until 21 days after the injury.
McPake added: “For me, a player being ruled out for a certain length of time, like rugby has, that’s what football should have in place, rather than just going on symptoms.
“That can be looked at whatever way you want.
“We’re all desperate to have players on the pitch but I think when it comes to a head injuries, concussions, anything to do with the brain, then I think the governance of that should be stronger.
“That’s just my opinion on it.
“If that means that at Dunfermline we lose players because of concussion then so be it.
“I would much rather that and protect the health of that player than risk them in a game if there’s a better way of looking after them.
“That’s the reason we’ll be very careful with Sam.”
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