Pucovski made a similar assessment himself at the time of his return to the Victorian Shield side last summer.
“The concussions have masked the bigger issues and that’s the mental health stuff,” Pucovski told Adam White on a Cricket Victoria podcast earlier this year. “The mental health has been a much bigger issue for me than even the concussions. I don’t fear for my long-term health, it’s more the mental health side that’s been the tougher part.”
Will Pucovski celebrates his first century since 2020.Credit: Getty
In Sydney in February, Pucovski played his first game at the SCG since he made his Test debut on the same ground, scoring a half-century and then injuring his shoulder, in January 2021.
His composition of a stirring century in that game was cause for widespread optimism that Pucovski could one day return to the Test side, particularly at a time when the national selectors are compelled to look to the future following David Warner’s retirement.
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But the blow to the head in Hobart, when Pucovski appeared to lose sight of a short ball hurled down by the rapid Riley Meredith, returned him to the centre of one of cricket's most difficult conversations.
In the aftermath of the hit, Pucovski lay on the ground for some time being attended by medical staff before slowly getting to his feet and walking from the ground unassisted.
Former Australian and Tasmanian skipper Tim Paine, who captained Pucovski in his solitary Test match, was concerned by what he saw.
“I was watching that live, it wasn’t good to watch,” he said on SEN. “Hopefully he’s OK, first and foremost. But I think it is concerning it keeps happening, and I think now is probably the time him and his people around will have to have a serious conversation on what’s next and which way he is going to attack it.
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“I don’t love talking about it, I think everyone knows the issue there and unfortunately it keeps happening, he keeps getting hit in the head. He’s got some concussion issues which we’re seeing more and more in all sports, mainly contact sports, but certainly in cricket in the last four or five years it’s become much more of an issue.”
Murphy retired from the AFL aged only 24 after 57 games, having struggled to recover from the effects of a head knock he suffered during last year’s grand final against the Brisbane Lions.
“It’s a very difficult one, isn’t it? I really feel for Will and his family,” former Australia team doctor Peter Brukner said after Pucovski’s latest hit. “You get all the testing done and the best medical advice, but there comes a time really where you’ve got to think, ‘When is enough, enough’.”
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