Concussion fears for Johnstone
LEEDS V 7.45PM WINGER’S RETURN ON HOLD
WAKEFIELD star winger Tom Johnstone is facing a further four weeks out at least as he is still suffering with concussion symptoms from April.
Trinity head coach Chris Chester revealed he does not know when Johnstone will be able to play again.
Johnstone, 25, failed his first head injury assessment in the Super League defeat by Wigan on April 1 and then in the Challenge Cup against Catalans nine days later.
It was hoped that he would be back for tonight’s West Yorkshire derby with rivals Leeds.
But Chester said: “Tom sees a specialist on Monday and it doesn’t look great to be honest. He’s still getting symptoms and headaches after all this time.
“We put him on a bike a few days ago and straight away he got some headaches. It’s a minimum four weeks again now.
“It’s one of those things where we’re being led by people that are more intelligent than me.”
Super League players must go through a week-long protocol after each concussion, but are stood down for an extended period if they suffer repeated cases.
Chester said: “There are strict guidelines in place now led by medical people and a neurosurgeon. We have our fingers crossed he gets some good news on Monday.
“The kid is really down and disappointed, and he’s going through a tough spell at the minute but I’m sure he’ll come out of the other side.
“There’s some really good education, which includes little things like not playing on any consoles at home, limiting your phone time, minimising your time watching TV and even putting yourself in a dark room with no light. Tom is really frustrated because he wants to get out there and do his best for the team.”
Chester, above, has a depleted squad as he hunts a first win of the season against a Rhinos team also struggling for form. The coach is among a host of people out of contract at Trinity this year.
He said: “Of course I’m keen to stay on – I love it here and I’m Wakefield born and bred.
“It’s been challenging the past couple of years and it’s made me think deep and hard about a lot of things with the personal attacks and things like that. It makes you think whether being a head coach is worth it.
“But I can’t speak highly enough of the people who work here and the support I’ve had.”