Lions legend Jonathan Brown has advised concussion-hit defender Justin Clarke to take the emotion out of deciding on when to return to football.
Brown, who had his career ended by a series of serious head knocks, said Clarke would be “very frustrated’’ right now.
“You’ve got to go through the right processes and all the tests and that can get to you because you would like to continue playing football,’’ Brown told The Courier-Mail.
“But you’ve got to remove the emotion from it.
“You need to speak to the people closest to you that have knowledge of the situation because I can guarantee you that everyone is an expert and if you listen to everyone, you get mixed messages.
“It’s OK if he takes six months or a year before he comes back.
“But at the end of the day, life doesn’t end when your footy career ends. You’ve got a lot of years left and a lot of things to do in this world and you want to be fit and healthy for that.
“Justin is a super smart kid. He won’t take any unnecessary or stupid risks.’’
Brown said Brisbane’s medical staff had extensive experience with head knocks with himself, Clarke and former Lions fullback Matt Maguire all suffering from concussions in recent years.
“Our doctors will talk through the pros and cons with him. Through my own experience, our doctors are very protective of the players and their lives post-football. That always comes first with them, they were fantastic in that area,’’ Brown said.
“The whole issue of concussion is massive now. It’s really in the public consciousness.
“Concussions are hard because none are the same. Some I got over very quickly and others took a long time to get over. The testing is only getting more advanced which enables athletes to make a really solid decision.’’
