Return to Play: Team Doctor Roles and Ethics

Determining when players are able to return to play is an important role played by football medical teams. Players who return too early might be at risk for further damage, and delaying the return too much can have consequences for the team’s performance. Numerous factors play a role in determining when a player is ready to return. This starts from the diagnosis of the injury and ends with identifying the criteria for when a player is ready to return to play (RTP). RTP does not necessarily mean that the player is in the same condition he/she was pre-injury, due to several reasons.