When must an injured player leave the field for one minute?

Question

Accepted Answer

Under the 2026/27 Off-field treatment and assessment protocol (Law 5), an outfield player must leave and stay off until one minute after play restarts (running clock) if: play is stopped because of their actual or suspected injury the referee signals for medical staff to come on, or the player asks for on-field medical attention The medical staff get time for an initial assessment on the field but should not treat the player there unless the injury is serious. The player returns only with the referee's permission, from the touchline if the ball is in play. If the injured player is substituted, the substitution is not delayed. No one-minute exit is needed when: the player says they don't need attention (unless play was stopped for the injury), or leaves voluntarily without delaying the restart a goalkeeper is injured, or a goalkeeper and outfield player collide team-mates collide and need attention there is a severe injury, especially a head injury (e.g. concussion), a cardiac issue or a life-threatening event such as a seizure or choking the injury came from a foul punished with a yellow or red card the injured player will take an awarded penalty kick A bleeding player must leave and may return only when the referee is satisfied the bleeding has stopped and there is no blood on their kit.