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For decades it didn’t amount to much more than a quick rub with the cold sponge.

“Where does it hurt son?” was the standard question of the football physio as he or she ran on to treat an injured player.

The state of sports medical science has of course moved exponentially in recent years.

Assets worth millions - and tens of millions - of pounds require the best treatments that money can buy.

And Liverpool have just introduced their latest weapon in the battle against player injuries - beaming instant replays of collisions instantly back to medical staff on the bench.

The club have introduced a new system called myplayXplay ((my-play-by-play), the first Premier League club to do so.

Reds doctor Andy Massey said the deal for myplayXplay was a “great collaboration” which “enables us to view replays of injuries pitchside.”

“This is about player welfare and fitness and we must never dismiss technology when efforting to protect our players,” he added.

Seeing the pictures of injury incidents and clashes almost instantly is seen as making it easier to make more accurate diagnoses, possibly preventing aggravating injuries which may not have been immediately apparent from the touchline.

When Dejan Lovren was injured when the Reds were trialling the system, Liverpool staff headed on to the pitch not only with their normal array of equipment but also an iPad so they could view the incident again.

It marks a major step forward with previous replay systems seen very much as hit and miss.

Ivan Reel, one of the Canadian-based team behind myplayXplay, said: “The old workflow meant medical staff had to rely on an infrequent and shared fixed feed at sideline. This process was described by some of Barclays Premier League staff in attendance as being hit or miss.

“Having witnessed the fixed line feed directly, giving it a 50% effectiveness is likely too high a rating. They would see instances on field and then they would wait with the expectation of possibly not being able to review the play.

“If they were lucky Liverpool staff would get an additional replay. This was all at the mercy of the broadcaster on air schedule. Not ideal when you're attempting to evaluate an injured player’s health.”

The system is operated using a very simple, touch, tap and swipe and its developers hope that it will be used not just for medical reasons going forward but as part of the whole video replay agenda already being discussed throughout football.

It was announced earlier this week that video replays would be trialled for two years in football for four separate instances (goals, red cards, penalties, mistaken identity), with the trial starting no later than 2017/18 although it has not yet been decided which nations will take part.

Mr Reel said multiple members of team staff either on field or watching in the stands can now “keep a close eye on questionable tackles, body hits and concussions”. He believes the App has the “strong potential to overhaul player welfare protocol”.

The system is also currently being used by the Irish and Wales rugby teams, the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League and various other ice hockey leagues.