French Rugby Star Returned To Game Minutes After Bloody Head Injury

It turns out the NFL isn't the only sport suffering from questionable concussion protocol. Last night's French rugby bout between Racing Metro and Toulouse featured a player who suffered a head injury, then staggered and eventually collapsed coming off the pitch. A few minutes later, he was back on the field.

Toulouse center Florian Fritz bashed his head into Francois van der Merwe's knee early in the match, and as you can see in the above video it was a bloody affair. Fritz is obviously dazed, and struggles to reach the sidelines. He returned to the match 15 minutes later.

Even worse, it appears he did so at the urging of his coach. That's because French rugby regulations state a player who is removed for a blood injury must return within a specified amount of time, or else he's permanently barred from re-entering. That's a pretty stupid rule, and one we imagine will get a hard look from authorities in the offseason.

h/t to Sergio