Elias Melkersen knew something was seriously wrong when he looked round St Mirren Park and didn’t have a clue where he was.
Not only that but a hefty collision with Hibs team mate Paul Hanlon had wiped the striker’s memory of everything that had happened in the previous week. That brutal blow between Hanlon’s hip and the Norwegian’s temple would also rob him of the next five weeks of action.
Thankfully the 19-year-old is back fit and with a full recollection of events now. But two months ago Hibs staff were seriously concerned about the striker after he suffered a third concussion in the space of a few months in the closing stages of a 1-0 defeat at St Mirren. Melkersen has returned to top team action for the past four games and admits he’s learned a valuable lesson about looking after himself on the park. He said: “I just need to protect myself more when I play. I like to go into duels but maybe now I will not go into really big ones.
“When it happened I knew that something was wrong. I got Paul Hanlon’s hip in my temple.
“I didn’t know where I was, I couldn’t remember the previous week. I was very concerned.
“The memories come back after some days but when it happened everything was gone from the previous week. The concussions I had before I was out for maybe one and a half weeks but this was four weeks.
“In fact maybe a bit more because I felt I couldn’t be myself when I started to train again. My body was completely fine but my head was gone, that was the frustrating part.
“I knew physically I could do everything but my head wasn’t working the way it wanted to. I wanted to come back but the club kept telling me to be patient.
“The doctors told me not to rush it and take the time I needed to. But it was very frustrating because I wanted to come back as fast as possible.
“It was worrying. I have had some concussions before but this was the worst one.
“It was tough to deal with because you feel like you’re ok, then after you train you feel like s***. If there was a lot of people around I would start to sway and feel dizzy.
“I couldn’t focus and my head would start to pump as well, so it was not good.. If anyone gets concussion you need to be very careful and take your time. If you don’t it can be very dangerous.”
Hibs are struggling with injuries and only 15 recognised first team players fit for the trip to face bottom of the table Killie this afternoon. With the U19 side in action at a tournament in Portugal, Lee Johnson ’s options are further hampered.
Johnson's side are also suffering in the form stakes having lost five of their last six games - a run that’s seen them plummet from third to seventh. Melkersen has yet to score a league goal for the club but the Norwegian insists there’s no panic and that the key to turning the tide is enjoyment on the park.
He’s also not concerned about Killie’s artificial surface having been brought up on plastic parks back in Norway. He said: “I’ve been playing on Astro since I was four years old so of course I love to play on it.
“A really good grass pitch is better, I think, but I don’t mind Astro. These ones aren’t as good as the ones we have back home, I would say, but they’re decent.
“I’m confident the goals will come soon, I don’t need to think about it because then it will become worse, I think. So I just need to train hard every day and be ready for games.
“I don’t feel pressure, we should just go out and have fun, that’s the most important thing in football, to go out and try and win the game. We need to have fight and desire within us and if we can do that the whole game I think the outcome will be good.”
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