Jon Wilkin reveals he once thought he would miss an A-Level exam – aged 24!
St Helens star reveals the effect concussion can have on the brain, also being referred to by a coach as 'The Lost Dog'
JON Wilkin has revealed he was once concussed so badly he thought he was going to miss an A-level exam, even though he was 24-years-old!
And he has told how one former St Helens boss referred to him as ‘The Lost Dog’ as he was all over the place, even though he was playing.
Concussion in contact sports is the big topic opened up by research and rugby league has introduced tests and a protocol anyone who suffers a head knock has to go through with doctors.
But before the damage to people’s brains was really paid attention to, Wilkin admitted he was hammered and did not even know where he was or how old he was against Castleford in 2008.
The back-rower, who went off after the clash and returns against Leeds tonight after missing the win at Warrington because of another head knock, this time with off-field business partner Mark Flanagan, said: “I got knocked out once and I thought I’d missed my A-level exams, bear in mind I was 24 I woke up saying, ‘I’m going to miss my chemistry A-level exam.’
“I was knocked out twice in consecutive weeks and Daniel Anderson referred to me over that period as ‘The Lost Dog.’
“We were doing video sessions and I just kept appearing in the wrong spot. There was even a point where we were attacking and I just ran across the back of everyone. He said, ‘What are you doing?’ and I replied, ‘I can’t even remember being on the field.’”
Now research has leapt forward, players are protected a lot more but Wilkin, 34, admitted the thought of what he has done scares him, adding to his : “I’ve probably been concussed badly, with memory loss, probably 10 times in my career.
"This sort of stuff scares me as you don’t know what’s around the corner. When you break an arm, you can see the damage, there’s a scar that I can see.
"But the idea that there are these traumatic injuries to my mind, not my body, scares me to death. If there’s one thing I regret doing to my body throughout my rugby league career, it’s the trauma to my brain.”
