Barclay’s injury anxiety

SCOTLAND captain John Barclay admits he had concerns over the nature of his head injury after six weeks out.

The back row forward was knocked out in late September by his international colleague Magnus Bradbur y in a game against Edinburgh, and has only just made his comeback.

The 31-year-old, who is set to captain his country in the upcoming autumn tests in the absence of Greg Laidlaw, played more than an hour f or t he Scarlets as t hey beat Benetton at the weekend after he was finally given the all-clear to return to action.

However, he admitted his prolonged absence left him anxious ahead of his return — but he was relieved to come through unscathed.

“I was a little rusty, which was a confidence thing as well as physical,” he said.

“Before the game I was a little anxious just because of the nature of having a concussion and having symptoms for as long as I did.

“It gave me peace of mind that everything is fine and that was great for me as an individual.”

He added: “It was a really tricky few weeks. I was out for six weeks and had never had head knocks before.

“I wouldn’t say I was prone to them.

“I’ve had my fair share as a professional rugby player but it just dragged on a little bit and took time, which was frustrating because there was no golden rule for recovery. It just takes as long as it takes. I had symptoms and had to just wait and bide my time for them to go.”

John Barclay