The AFL has pledged to review its communication with the umpiring department after general manager of football Laura Kane was forced to walk back claims officials did not see Lachie Schultz concussed on Thursday night.

Kane has also revealed a breakdown in communication with the umpiring department, rather than the field umpires, was to blame for the mix-up.

The Collingwood forward was injured in an incident with Walyalup (Fremantle) defender Jordan Clark during their Optus Stadium clash on Thursday night.

In a statement at the weekend, Kane said the four field umpires had not seen Schultz lying on the turf.

But explosive leaked audio, revealed on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters, proved the umpires were aware of the situation and still allowed play to continue around the injured player.

All four umpires involved have been allocated games this weekend.

“Our process in determining what happened Thursday night failed and for that we take full responsibility.

“Today we have determined there was a miscommunication from members of the umpiring department, not the field umpires, which formed the basis of our initial public statement on Friday,” Kane said in a statement released late on Wednesday.

“Those team members have been counselled and reminded of the importance of ensuring our process is fully followed regarding these types of incidents and in this instance, it was not.

“I have asked (general manager of football performance) Josh Mahoney to review these processes to ensure the right information is communicated and to ensure this does not happen again.

“Everyone, including our umpires, are aligned in ensuring the health and safety of players continues to be the utmost priority and the AFL has been in regular contact with the AFLUA today.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the AFL Players Association hit out at the league’s handling of the incident and said more needs to be done to protect injured players.

AFLPA chief executive Paul Marsh said the Schultz error was just the latest in a string of incidents.

“It is now clear that the umpires noticed Lachie Schultz’ injury and had the opportunity to stop the play to ensure he left the field safely,” he said.

“What this highlights to us is that the process of dealing with vital health and safety issues on the field is unclear, and there are many recent examples of the industry needing to better prepare everyone for when these situations occur.

“Equally, we are disappointed that the AFL failed to appropriately review a serious on-field incident, but acknowledge that they have taken responsibility for this.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the industry to continually strengthen health and safety protocols for our members.”

Schultz will miss Collingwood’s clash with Adelaide on Saturday in concussion protocols.