After suffering concussions in consecutive games, it’s been revealed Sydney Roosters and Queensland prop Lindsay Collins will take an indefinite break from NRL action as he recovers.
After sustaining a big head knock during the destructive opening to the State of Origin decider, Collins was concussed again in the Roosters’ away win over Manly last week.
He has not been named to play in this weekend’s important clash against Brisbane, and coach Trent Robinson has offered no specific timeline on his return due to the uncertain nature of these types of injuries.
“(Recovery) will be a couple of weeks,” Robinson told AAP.
“It’s hard because science doesn’t know what the answer is. But we’ve seen (that) when we’ve given a few weeks of to guys they come back a lot better.”
Luke Keary is another on the Roosters’ roster who has dealt with extensive concussion issues, even being forced into his own extended break after receiving multiple knocks in quick succession back in 2019.
The five-eighth spoke on the Fox League podcast about his own issues coming back from repeated head injuries.
“There are a lot of people who are going to have an opinion about it, but if you can just listen to (neurological experts), they’re not going to put you at risk,” Keary said.
“They’re not going to let you go back out there if they think there’s a risk to your long-term future.
“I’ve had (concussions) where I’ve had symptoms and you can’t do anything with those, you’ve just got to rest and wait for the symptoms to go. The NRL also has a return to play policy which you follow, that’s a pretty safe way to get back into contact and games.
“Then there are (other types). In 2019 I had a few in a row and was forced into a six-week lay-off. I was fine, I didn’t have any symptoms, but the doctors thought it was the best thing to have a month off.”
Keary also spoke about his team-mate Collins, who is already raring to return to action.
“Lindsay was in good spirits after the game, he’s been at training every day – he wanted to train with us yesterday but the doctors wouldn’t let him.
“He’s going to have some time off, get himself right, make sure his head and neck are okay.
“Hopefully we get him back before the end of the season, but if not, we all just want Lindsay to be healthy again.”
Collins and Keary aren’t the first Roosters to have significant struggles with concussion issues – former captain Boyd Cordner was forced to retire from the game after a string of head knocks.
