More footballers will miss more games with concussion in 2020, due to the AFL tightening its protocols.

League sources have confirmed to The Age that players will be need to be successful in a Sport Concussion Assessment Tool test a full five days before playing their next game.

With the more stringent policy, a concussed player with a six-day break or less ahead of their next match will have little to no chance of playing.

Down for the count: North Melbourne footballer Ben Brown. Credit:AAP

Clubs will no longer be allowed to wait until later in the week to determine if a player has properly recovered from a head knock.