Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge admits that midfielder Tom Liberatore "is not out of the woods" regarding his latest concussion.
Fears started to grow around whether Liberatore would be medically retired after suffering a head knock in Round 8 against Hawthorn, taking his total to four in the past 12 months.
The 32-year-old also strangely collapsed three weeks earlier in a clash with Essendon, which was later confirmed to be concussion-related.
The incident near the end of the game when Tom Liberatore collapsed in the centre of the ground... pic.twitter.com/XlG7EhtoE5
— 7AFL (@7AFL) April 12, 2024
With the AFL stepping in and sending the left-footer to neuro experts, Liberatore has been cleared to play, with Beveridge breathing a sigh of relief as his health is heading in a positive direction.
"A lot of time and commitment to making sure Tom's wellbeing is at the forefront of our thinking has happened," Beveridge said on Tuesday.
"I think physically he'll be okay, he's been able to do everything... we'll introduce him into the main football drills prior to his return to play and if he's comfortable, he'll come back into the team.
"We've said it's 2-3 weeks."
However, the 2016 premiership coach remains distressed by the "topic of concussion", which has put Liberatore through the winger but also retired three players in the last six months, including Bulldogs youngster Aiden O'Driscoll.
"It's a challenge to talk about," Beveridge said.
"The topic of concussion at the moment and the effect of it on our game and how sensitive we are to our player's health... and it's not like he's out of the woods.
"He comes back and plays and everything's okay but each time anyone who's never had a concussion goes for the footy in a collision-type situation, you hold your breath. Sometimes you even think 'Don't go for this one'.
"And our guys rarely pull out of those. And when Tom comes back, there will still be that nervousness that he might cop another knock."
The Western Bulldogs are gearing up for a crucial clash with Sydney on Thursday.
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