After suffering concussions in consecutive games, itโs 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 Roostersโ away win over Manly last week.
He has not been named to play in this weekendโs 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.
โ(Recovery) will be a couple of weeks,โ Robinson told AAP.
โItโs hard because science doesnโt know what the answer is. But weโve seen (that) when weโve given a few weeks of to guys they come back a lot better.โ
Luke Keary is another on the Roostersโ 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.
โThere are a lot of people who are going to have an opinion about it, but if you can just listen to (neurological experts), theyโre not going to put you at risk,โ Keary said.
โTheyโre not going to let you go back out there if they think thereโs a risk to your long-term future.
โIโve had (concussions) where Iโve had symptoms and you canโt do anything with those, youโve just got to rest and wait for the symptoms to go. The NRL also has a return to play policy which you follow, thatโs a pretty safe way to get back into contact and games.
โThen 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 didnโt have any symptoms, but the doctors thought it was the best thing to have a month off.โ
Keary also spoke about his team-mate Collins, who is already raring to return to action.
โLindsay was in good spirits after the game, heโs been at training every day โ he wanted to train with us yesterday but the doctors wouldnโt let him.
โHeโs going to have some time off, get himself right, make sure his head and neck are okay.
โHopefully we get him back before the end of the season, but if not, we all just want Lindsay to be healthy again.โ
Collins and Keary arenโt the first Roosters to have significant struggles with concussion issues โ former captain Boyd Cordner was forced to retire from the game after a string of head knocks.
