Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is set to return to action this weekend after missing two weeks of football following his scary concussion he suffered against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The concussion came just four days after many had believed he suffered a previous one in a win over the Buffalo Bills. The Dolphins were been highly-scrutinised for their handling of the situation, with a number of world-renowned neuroscientists warning of the dangers of having two concussions in a short space of time.
Dr Bennet Omalu, the first doctor to discover and publish findings on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in American Football players had told Tagovailoa that he should retire immediately.
The Hawaiian quarterback took to the podium for the first time after the concussion, and has responded to questions about his future and becoming aware of neuroscientists telling him to quit American football.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he said: "There's not necessarily as much long-term risk to, say, let's say guys get about six concussions. Well, those guys that only have six concussions that are playing the position that I'm playing, where we don't hit as much are less susceptible to getting CTE later on in their years than someone who's playing a position where they're constantly taking hits or blows to the head, which would be O-line, D-line, linebackers.
"And that's kind of some of the information that I've been given from a lot of these doctors that are the best of the best in their field."
Dr Omalu, who's work was portrayed by Will Smith in the Hollywood film Concussion in 2015, was one of a number of neuroscientists to tell Tagovailoa that he should quit the sport.
He told TMZ: "If you love your life, if you love your family, you love your kids -- if you have kids -- it's time to gallantly walk away. Go find something else to do."
Tagovailoa suffered the first head injury against the Bills on a Sunday afternoon in which he looked to have suffered a hit to the head, and walked off the field gingerly - but not before falling to the floor. He would be taken out of the game for evaluation, but was surprisingly allowed to return to the field. The doctor who cleared Tagovailoa to re-enter the game has now been fired by the NFL, with investigations into the incident being opened.
On the Thursday afterwards, four days later, Tagovailoa would start against the Bengals and was slammed to the ground by defensive tackle Josh Topou, as he would go into the 'fencing position' - a defined action as to when a person experiences an impact that's strong enough to cause traumatic brain injury, such as a concussion, their arms often go into an unnatural position.
Tagovailoa will now start on Sunday night, when the Dolphins (3-3) will face the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-4) in the prime time slot.
