Mason: Children should not head footballs

After an aerial collision during a Premier League game in 2017, Ryan Mason aged 27 was forced to retire due a fractured skull. Rules in the US do not permit children under 11 to head the ball due to potential long-term injuries that may incur. The former Tottenham, Hull and England midfielder believes that the UK should follow suit.

"If you have got a seven- or eight-year-old heading a solid ball, and his brain and his bone in his skull isn't fully developed, then that could potentially be doing damage."

Mason made this statement as a call to the PFA to improve understanding of the damage that can be done by heading the ball as a child. He made suggestions to avoid the problem by saying, "maybe bring in sponge balls to learn the technique and gain that experience of actually challenging for a header."

With concussion being such a big talking point nowadays, Ryan Mason has also called for an improvement in the protection of players who suffer from concussion. The Football Association has stated that it is "committed to researching and examining all areas" of head injuries in the game.