Why Harry Maguire was allowed to stay on against Fulham despite referee advising Man Utd to substitute him

The reason why Harry Maguire was allowed to play on for Manchester United against Fulham - despite the referee advising him to be substituted - has been revealed.

Maguire went down in the early exchanges of United's 1-0 win at Craven Cottage with a head injury, following a collision with Fulham forward Rodrigo Muniz.

The 30-year-old appeared to accidentally head the shoulder of Muniz as he attempted to challenge for the ball.

Maguire then went down again minutes later after heading the ball out of play, with cameras showing the defender appearing to have suffered a cut above his left eye.

Then, in the second half, referee John Brooks spotted an issue with the England international after he went down for a third time, and told United's medical staff that the defender had to leave the pitch to receive further treatment amid concerns over his health.

But Maguire was hesitant to be replaced, and subsequently signalled that he was able to continue the match.

United medical staff checked Maguire using the relevant concussion protocols after he suffered the head injury following his collision with Muniz.

The defender cleared those checks, and was therefore allowed to continue - even after going down for a second time minutes later.

And despite the concern surrounding his health in the second half, Maguire had actually suffered an unrelated issue to his first half injury - as he was dealing with a hand problem, according to manager Erik ten Hag.

Ten Hag confirmed after the game that the England defender had not been concussed, with laws allowing teams to make two extra substitutes to replace players suffering from concussion and concussion-related injuries.

Speaking to MUTV, Maguire explained: "Obviously I got a knock really early on in the game. The doc did all the tests and I knew where I was and I was answering all the questions. I completed them [the concussion protocols] thankfully.

"If the doc says I'm okay to carry on then I'm always going to carry on."

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