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Concussion experts warn Aussies after Rogers’ collapse

AUSTRALIA have been warned of the ‘potentially devastating’ consequences of allowing head- injury victim Chris Rogers to play in next week’s third Ashes Test.

The 37-year- old Australia opener slumped to the ground while batting in the second Test at Lord’s on Sunday before retiring ill just 48 hours after suffering a sickening blow to the head from a James Anderson bouncer. Rogers (below) will have further medical assessment tomorrow, and is now a doubt for the Test at Edgbaston, starting next Wednesday. Peter McCabe, chief executive of brain injury charity Headway, warned: ‘The risk of exacerbating the damage — with potentially devastating consequences — by continuing to play on while the brain’s function is distorted is too great to ignore.’

Australia team doctor Peter Bruckner said on

Monday that Rogers’s collapse was unrelated to his previous concussions — he missed both Tests against the West Indies last month after suffering concussion in a practice accident — and was actually caused by an ear problem. The opener has visited specialists in London, and although they cleared him of serious damage, there were some minor irregularities in the findings. Rogers will be monitored again before the weekend but it is understood that a further complication is that he only suffers any loss of bearings when his head is in a certain position. Rogers’s opening partner David Warner yesterday revealed the left-hander was so confused he believed the Lord’s grandstand was moving while he was batting. And McCabe urged Australia to show extreme caution. ‘Concussion is an evolving injury,’ he said. ‘Often, there may be delay in the presentation of symptoms, such as dizziness, blurred vision or nausea. ‘If concussion is suspected, it is vital that players are removed from the field of play.’