Milos Kerkez went down in the 70th minute of Sunday's Premier League encounter with Arsenal at Anfield following a clash of heads with Kai Havertz, forcing him to be taken off the pitch

Gary Neville called the decision to send Milos Kerkez off the pitch for medical evaluation during Sunday's match between Liverpool and Arsenal as "ridiculous", after the Hungarian defender suffered a clash of heads with Kai Havertz.

Kerkez went down in the 70th minute after going up for a header with Havertz during an Arsenal attack, causing him to fall flat on the floor and kick his legs out in agony as play continued.

Eventually, Kerkez got back onto his feet, rubbing the back of his head as he attempted to get back into position, but soon enough, referee Andy Madley instructed him to step off the field of play to undergo a medical evaluation.

Under Premier League rules, referees must strictly mandate a touchline medical assessment if a player sustains a potential head or concussion injury to ensure player safety.

Kerkez, however, actively attempted to play on after his run-in with Havertz, but Madley instructed him to leave the field so that team doctors could check him over. The evaluation was brief, and once given the all-clear, he was allowed back onto the pitch about a minute later.

Neville, though, was left far from impressed with what he had seen, making his feelings on the situation perfectly clear during his co-commentary duties for Sky Sports' broadcast of the game.

"It's a nonsense rule. Why would he be wasting time? He has just banged his head," Neville huffed. "Is this where he has to go off for five minutes? This rule is going to cost a team at some point. It is an absolute joke!"

The reason for Neville's outburst was that Kerkez's absence from the field for his medical evaluation left Liverpool a man down for a minute of Arsenal pressure, putting them at a disadvantage because their player suffered a completely legitimate injury.

While he was off the pitch, Dominik Szoboszlai was forced into Kerkez's left-back role to cover for his countryman, prompting the Reds to alter tactics briefly as they searched for a way back into the game.

Just minutes before his clash of heads with Havertz, Kerkez had been booked for committing a deliberate trip on Arsenal's Noni Madueke, while less than 10 minutes after coming back onto the field, he was taken off as part of a triple substitution that saw him replaced by Kostas Tsimikas.

Elsewhere in the game, Neville said that Liverpool midfielder Trey Nyoni was a "very lucky boy" after two early incidents in the game, which saw the 19-year-old chop down Arsenal duo Martin Odegaard and Havertz.

The first of those came after just one minute of action, as Nyoni clumsily fouled Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard by scraping his studs down the back of his leg, before chopping down Havertz in the 10th minute following a heavy touch, causing him to mistime his challenge and boot the Arsenal forward.

"He got away with the first one and if he gets away with this he is a very lucky boy," Neville said. "Someone needs to get hold of him and tell him to calm down."