Limerick star Seán Finn has spoken of his relief at being withdrawn against Cork last month, saying that he would have been a “hazard” to himself otherwise.
The All Star defender suffered the first concussion of his career in Limerick’s defeat to their Munster rivals on February 27 as a result of a challenge from Shane Kingston, for which the Cork forward was red-carded.
Finn was keen to resume action but was overruled by the medics and sat out their subsequent draw with Clare before returning for last Sunday’s win over Offaly.
He said: “I had concussion symptoms for a number of hours. I can see why you wouldn’t want a number of them. It’s quite serious.
“I was keen to come on the field at the time. I was trying to make up the answers to what they were asking me – I think I got them all wrong! They said the best thing was to just keep me off. I was just shook. I didn’t train for 10 or 12 days, then returned to training.”
Finn agreed that players will always want to play on in those situations, hence the importance of the decision being taken out of their hands.
“I think it’s natural that you want to play. It’s just the competitive nature that the player has but I think it’s important that the medical team take their own initiative on it too.
“It was only maybe 10 minutes later where I really showed symptoms of real concussion so if I was probably a delayed reaction. If I was out on the pitch 10 minutes later I was a hazard to myself.
“If they said, ‘You can go on, Sean’ I would have went on but that wasn’t the right thing to do but it was good that I wasn’t in the position to make that decision.
“It was important that they used their initiative even though it might be the hard call to make.”
The symptoms manifested as a “loss of memory” and “severe headaches” and Finn added: “I didn’t know where I was really. Didn’t know where my gear bag was in the dressing room.
“Couldn’t remember the goals going in. Couldn’t remember the score and stuff like that and what way we were playing. After a couple of hours I came around and I was fine but I’d be a hazard to myself if I was allowed back onto that field.”
Moments after Kingston’s red card that day, Limerick’s Seamus Flanagan was dismissed for a similar challenge on Niall O’Leary.
On Sunday last, DJ Foran of Waterford was sent off for catching Kilkenny’s Mikey Butler on the head.
Finn agreed that all three incidents merited red cards but said there is still plenty of room for physicality in the game outside of that.
“They were all red cards. It can still be a really physical game without going into that danger zone. They were just maybe mistimed.
“I know my one, I came into it, it was mistimed. DJ Foran’s one was quite similar where your man was just getting up out of a tackle. Seamus’s was probably an outlier, it was probably just a loose tackle.
“The game can still be consumed with tackles and stuff but there has to be some sort of mitigation by the player making the tackle as well - just be disciplined in the tackle. I think it’s more discipline.”
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