Uruguay's Alvaro Pereira takes vicious blow to the head, stays in game

Head injuries in sports are no joke, which is why what happened to Uruguay's Alvaro Pereira in the second half of Thursday's clash with England has emerged as

Head injuries in sports are no joke, which is why what happened to Uruguay's Alvaro Pereira in the second half of Thursday's clash with England has emerged as such a major talking point despite Luis Suarez's two goals out-doing Wayne Rooney's first World Cup goal in an entertaining 2-1 result.

Pereira took a vicious blow to the temple via Raheem Sterling's knee, one that appeared to knock him out cold. It was a move that Dana White or Vince McMahon could surely appreciate, but not one that typically results in a human bouncing back and returning to action almost immediately after coming to. 

But that's exactly what Pereira did. Despite team officials and trainers appearing to urge him to take more time on the sideline and even be substituted out, Pereira ignored all instructions, waving his finger aggressively, and returned to the field for the remainder of the game. 

Should Uruguay have been more adamant about Pereira being more comprehensively examined? Should Oscar Tabarez and his staff taken no for an answer from its player? It did not appear that Pereira suffered any further damage from playing on, but that's irrelevant. Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris encountered a similar situation during this past season, taking a blow to the head, staying in the game and eventually being diagnosed with a concussion in the aftermath.

Leave it to ESPN analyst and former MLS and USA forward Taylor Twellman, who has become a massive advocate for concussion awareness since having his career cut short by head injuries, to issue the authoritative word:

Hey @SeppBlatter let me know when you want to address head injuries in our game. Perreira should've been taken off. Has to stop. #URUvsENG

— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) June 19, 2014

Watch the incident below:

WILSON: Suarez comes to Uruguay's rescue in heroic return from injury