Roosters captain James Tedesco has rubbished claims Luke Keary may need to retire after he was sidelined with the latest in a string of concussions.
Keary has been named in the Roosters squad to face the Eels at CommBank Stadium on Saturday, but is in doubt after leaving the field on the half-hour mark of the Roosters’ 26-18 loss to the Storm at the SCG in round 14.
Speaking to Wide World of Sports, Tedesco said Keary was “fine”, and returned to training on Tuesday.
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“He’s had one concussion – his last one was two years ago. He’s fine,” Tedesco said.
“He’ll do some light training – he trained yesterday and he was fine. Hopefully there’s no long-term effects of it … it was just a hit to the head, which happens.
“It wasn’t like it was a sickening concussion where it was a massive hit, and there have been a few of those this year, but he went off and he’s all right.”
Tedesco, who on Wednesday presented a $250,000 cheque to the Starlight Foundation on behalf of Swysh, said he believed Keary would be fine to line up in the No.7 jersey on Saturday night.
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The Roosters halfback was forced to leave the field after he copped a knee to the back of the head from teammate Joseph Manu during a tackle on Storm fullback Nick Meaney.
He suffered a string of concussions through the 2018 and 2019 seasons, but hasn’t had a documented case since. He did, though, only play three games in 2021 due to a serious knee injury.
Keary is just the latest in a line of Roosters to face concussion concerns. Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend were both forced into medical retirement last year after suffering prolonged effects from concussions.
Questions about Keary’s future have refuelled speculation Cameron Munster could end up wearing the Tricolours in 2023.
Speaking on Fox League’s NRL 360 on Tuesday night, Munster’s manager Braith Anasta said while Keary himself had been weighing up options on his future in the game, there had been no contact from the Roosters about a move for his star client.
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