Irish footballer in coma after San Francisco clash

Prayers for Mark's speedy recovery.

My prayers are with him..let's hope he pulls through. Concussions have seen a dramatic rise in hockey and one of our best young players, Sidney Crosby sustained a bad one earlier this year..and that's with wearing a helmet. The soccer (football) associations will be forced to take a hard look at this issue. Head injuries are very serious.

While playing in a State Olympic Development soccer match my son, Rory, was speared in the side of the head with an elbow at full running speed by an opposing defender at the goal. He was knocked unconscious for about 15 seconds, came off the field, spent ten minutes clearing his head, then went back on the field. Then again, being half-Irish and half-Filipino he has the benefit of hard head on both sides. Seriously, though, soccer is a rough sport splayed with no protection and I wish this young man all the best in recovering from this injury.