Scotland captain John Barclay has expressed the view that the system for dealing with players returning to professional rugby union following head injuries remains ‘flawed’ after his lengthy spell on the sidelines this season resulted in him visiting a neurosurgeon to undergo brain scans.
The 31-year-old Scarlets back-row forward, who is believed to be an Edinburgh signing target, said he had feared he was running out of time to get back in time for the forthcoming autumn Test series, but that he had prioritised his family and his health in refusing to return to the game before he was ready.
However in explaining that he revealed yesterday that he had passed the required cognitive tests while still suffering from symptoms including light-headedness and suggested that other players might have taken that opportunity to declare themselves fit to play.
“I have two kids and my wife is pregnant. I am not going to risk long term ill health or do something stupid just so I was fit to play in a rugby match, whether it was playing for Scarlets or Scotland,” he observed. “I was not going to risk that. That is just my approach but I know some of the other guys may not have done the same.”
His experience of visiting the specialist also brought to his attention the extent to which the medical profession is still coming to terms with an issue that is generating considerable concern across an array of contact sports.
“That’s the thing. He’s a professor and he still doesn’t really know,” said Barclay.
“He admits the stuff he’s doing isn’t perfect. He’s trying to find stuff that’s going to give them a better idea of how to treat these things. So he just said your cognitive function’s good, your brain is actually ok, so you just need to start trying to get back into things.”
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