Westpac NSW Blues back-rower Liam Martin faces a nervous wait on his availability for Game Two of the Ampol State of Origin series, following a head knock during Saturday night’s clash between the Sydney Roosters and Penrith Panthers.
Martin was deemed to have displayed category 1 symptoms of concussion in the Round 15 match and was removed from the field in the 67th minute.
According to coach Brad Fittler, the next 48 hours is an important stage of the return-to-play protocols and will go a long way to determining whether Martin is able to suit up for the must-win Origin II at Suncorp Stadium.
“The key is that he sees the CMO (chief medical officer) at Penrith after two days, 48 hours,” Fittler said on Channel Nine’s The Sunday Footy Show.
"That’s the important test they have to pass to make sure they haven’t got headaches (or other delayed symptoms) from the incident.”
Having been one of the Blues’ best in Game One, Fittler was willing to give Martin every chance to prove his fitness.
“I spoke to Liam this morning, he was okay after the game,” Fittler added.
“Hopefully he gets through that (and) time-wise, he gets through the protocols to play. There are things to do with contact at training and certain things they can do at training so that will all be supervised.”
