Headway, a brain injury charity, has questioned Aston Villa’s handling of John McGinn’s head injury as the midfielder is set to miss his Carabao Cup clash with Chelsea due to ‘a concussion.

McGinn was a 40th-minute concussion substitute in Villa’s 3-0 win over Everton on Saturday, manager Dean Smith said the Scotland star told staff he felt dizzy during the game.

Headway general manager Peter McCabe said that in the event of a head injury, players should not be allowed to determine whether they can continue playing and temporary substitutes for concussions – when a player is substituted for 10 minutes while being evaluated in private – should be introduced. .

McGinn will not play at Stamford Bridge under FA “return-to-play” guidelines that require a six-day absence for a head injury.

“The way this incident unfolded doesn’t look good,” McCabe said. “A player received a clear blow to the head after just six minutes. About 30 minutes later, the player himself requests to be taken out because, according to his own manager, he was feeling dizzy – a clear sign of concussion.

The FA concussion protocols read: “At all levels of football, if a player is suspected of having suffered a concussion, he must be immediately taken off the field, whether in training. or during a match. “

Villa says they followed the correct head injury protocol at all times. It is understood that the Premier League, after discussions with the club, will not investigate further. Villa medics had assessed McGinn throughout and determined he was fit to play until their last check-up, which resulted in his replacement.

McGinn had collided with Everton defender Michael Keane after six minutes and fell to the ground, holding his face. After evaluation, it was believed that he had injured his left cheekbone.

In the 19th minute, McGinn was treated further by medics and deemed fit to continue. He appeared to be taking pills before the medical team left the field.

Then in the 38th minute, after a challenge with Demarai Gray, McGinn waved to referee Craig Pawson and was substituted.

McCabe added: “The risk of playing after suffering a concussion is that a secondary hit to the head can worsen the initial brain injury. Players should not put themselves, or be allowed to be, at such risk.

Smith raised doubts about who made the deciding call with his comments on Saturday. “He got a blow to the head after five minutes,” the manager said.

“He felt he was okay with continuing. Around the 26th minute he received another blow to the head, I think.

“There was a pause in the game and he came to alert us. Our doctor kept an eye on him, but he called him at that point and said, “No, I’m too dizzy” and went downstairs. Our doctor was on it.

Meanwhile, Emiliano Buendia is expected to make his first appearance for Villa since his stint in quarantine.

Along with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, Buendia returned from a forced 10-day stay in Croatia after spending time in countries on the UK government’s “red list” during the recent international break while playing for the UK. ‘Argentina.