France’s Benjamin Pavard was unconscious for 15 seconds during win over Germany

France defender Benjamin Pavard revealed that he was left unconscious for about 15 seconds last night after a collision with Germany’s Robin Gosens.

As Germany were on the attack in the search for an equalizer, the ball was crossed in towards Gosens and as he tried to get there, his knee hit Pavard’s face, leaving the Frenchman to hit the ground.

Pavard was treated after the collision and then taken off the pitch to be looked at, but soon returned to finish the game as France won 1-0.

"I took a real shock,” Pavard said to the press after the match.

"I was a little knocked out for ten, 15 seconds."

The incident created some surprise for fans, who expected Pavard to be substituted off the pitch after the nasty collision.

Unlike certain domestic leagues, including those in England, Portugal, the Netherlands, UEFA has not approved the use of concussion substitutes, which allows clubs to make changes if a player suffers a severe blow to the head.

UEFA did trial the substitutes in the U-21 European Championships’ final phase in Hungary and Slovenia earlier this year, but it was not adopted for the senior tournament.

This week, however, all 24 teams participating at Euro 2020 signed a “concussion charter”, which commits them to taking a series of measures to improve care and welfare of their participating players.

FIFPro, though, asked for stricter measures, including a better “world-class concussion protocol” that would include concussion substitutes and a gradual six-day return to play to ensure safety of players.

Former professionals such as Chris Sutton called for the rules to change.

“When will the footballing authorities actually put the players health first,” Sutton said.

Should concussion rules be improved in European competitions? Let us know in the comments below.

"Temporary concussion substitutes need to be implemented right away.

"Get the player off to be checked by an independent doctor, put a substitute on, and if the player is ok put him back on."

France won 1-0 and they next travel to Budapest’s Puskas Arena to face Hungary before ending their group stage campaign with a game at the same venue against Portugal.

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