Ederson the latest victim of dangerous offside protocol which could have a huge impact on Man City's trophy hopes - and everyone should be concerned

The 'delayed offside' protocol, whereby assistants do not immediately raise their flags even when there is a glaringly obvious offside, has long frustrated fans, and many warned from the start that it could lead to a player getting injured.

Manchester City have found out first-hand how real that risk is lately and on Saturday against Newcastle they lost goalkeeper Ederson to injury in a collision with Sean Longstaff after a passage of play which was clearly offside and never should have taken place.

It came just three weeks after John Stones injured his foot after clashing with Everton striker Beto in a incident that only happened because the assistant did not raise his flag despite a clear offside.

City may have won both matches, but each incident had a big impact on the way the games panned out. And everyone in football should be calling for an end to a senseless protocol that is putting players at risk.

City ended up beating Newcastle 3-2 thanks to two moments of brilliance from the returning Kevin De Bruyne, but the champions came close to dropping crucial points in the title race after Ederson was forced off in only the eighth minute.

The Brazilian tried to play on after banging his leg against Longstaff and almost committed a howler moments later when his pass was charged down by Miguel Almiron. That led to Rodri urging Pep Guardiola to take Ederson off immediately.

Stefan Ortega is a solid deputy, but not as good with his feet or arms as Ederson, and conceded twice in the space of three minutes. Both shots from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon just evaded his grasp and there is an argument that the Brazilian, who is taller than Ortega, would have saved them.

City were already weakened by the absence of Stones, who was pivotal to last season's treble success but has had a nightmare season on the injury front. He was just getting back into the swing of things after two long periods out when his ankle was taken out by Beto when play should have been halted at Goodison Park. He has not trained with City since the incident and it is not known when he will return.

Fortunately for City, Ederson's injury does not seem that bad, and although Guardiola explained that the goalkeeper "is not walking well" he said it was only a knock. City also have the good fortune that the injury happened right before their two-week pause in action, meaning Ederson has plenty of time to recover before facing Burnley on January 31.

Guardiola's side also have one of the strongest squads in the league and have managed to stay in the title race despite a litany of injuries to key players, such as De Bruyne missing five months after tearing his hamstring and Erling Haaland's current absence with a foot problem.

Other players and teams have not been so fortunate when it comes to injuries caused by poor officiating. Everton's Ben Godfrey broke his leg on the opening day of last season against Chelsea after making a tackle after the ball had clearly gone out of play. He missed over four months of football and Everton only avoided relegation by the skin of their teeth.

In a match against Liverpool in the first season after the protocol was introduced by the Premier League in 2020, Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio was left out cold on the pitch for 10 minutes after banging his head against team-mate Conor Coady as he tried to prevent Mohamed Salah getting to the ball.

Salah was quickly ruled offside, but the flag came far too late and there was genuine concern for Patricio's wellbeing, with Jurgen Klopp calling it "an awful situation" and "a proper shock".

The goalkeeper ended up making a speedy recovery and Wolves' then-manager Nuno Espirito Santo did not want to blame officials for the injury, saying it could have happened in any phase of play.

While it is true that injuries can happen at any point in a match, organisers should surely be trying to reduce the possibility of them occurring. Playing on even when everyone knows the flag is about to go up by nature increases the chance of injuries occurring.

City may be highly unfortunate to have been impacted by two such incidents in close succession, but there is no guarantee they will not be afflicted by the curse of the delayed offside again.

Everyone in football should be angry about the rule as it increases the risk at a moment when there is an epidemic of injuries in the men's and women's game due to the increased number of fixtures and reduced amount of time between matches.

But occasional injuries are not the only negative effects of the delayed offsides. Players are continually sprinting back or forwards in pursuit of lost causes, playing to the whistle on the off chance a move that appears to be offside might eventually be ruled onside by VAR.

Far more often than not, the flag is still raised, rendering the players' efforts useless and leaving them with less energy later in the game, which in turn impacts their ability to influence proceedings.

The rule change may have been brought in as part an apparent attempt to give the advantage to attacking players and prevent attacking moves being incorrectly ruled offside, but its main legacy has been to frustrate players and supporters alike.

A rarer but far more significant effect has been the preventable injuries suffered by the likes of Ederson, Stones and Patricio, who paid heavy prices for getting involved in passages of play that never should have taken place.

And just as the regulators have meddled with the rules in the hope of changing the game for the better, they should have the humility to see that their plan has not had the desired impact.

It's time to bring an end to the madness and get assistants to do their jobs properly again. That means flagging an offside when they see one, not 20 seconds later, which is enough time for someone to get seriously hurt.