For those who were at the York City game on Saturday, you’ll know that Striker Jon Nurse suffered a nasty head injury that had the home crowd off their seats and worrying for the player’s health. Well, after a long weekend, which gave Jon some much-needed time to rest and recover from the diagnosed concussion, he returned to The Hive today with a big smile on his face and was happy to sit down with Barnetfc.com to talk about what happened…
Barnetfc: Jon, welcome back to the club. On behalf of all the staff and The Bees fans, it’s really good to see you back. I think a lot of people were really worried after seeing you collide with the York defender and it all looked very concerning. How are you feeling now?
Jon Nurse: [*Smiles*] I still feel a little bit dazed. My focus isn’t the best and I’m still doing silly things [*Laughs*]. I came into see the club doctor this morning around 8:30 for a memory test, which I failed…! But I’m hoping that, give me a few more days, I’ll be feeling better. We did the same test on the Saturday and the same test today and I’m better than I was on the Saturday, so hopefully in the next couple of days I’ll be a bit better.
BFC: What was the actual diagnosis?
JN: Concussion. There were initially concerned that I’d done something to my neck and they had me in a neck brace up until I got my X-Rays done. But the x-rays came back clear, so they were happy to let me go after that.
BFC: Do you remember anything about the incident?
JN: Well, the last thing I remember is Jake coming on and me swapping positions with him…[*thinks*]…and going up for the header…but other than that I don’t really remember anything. [*Thinks*]…I sort of remember coming off the pitch on a stretcher, but after that I don’t really remember what happened. I just know I was on the stretcher!
BFC: Has anyone told you what happened?
JN: [*Smiles*] Yeah, people have told me what happened. There were a few jokes flying around from the lads and Stew [The club physio]. They said I was trying to fight the guy! [*Laughs*]
BFC: Lets look a little bit further back in the game – hopefully you’ll remember this – Do you remember your goal?
JN: [*Laughs*] Yeah, I remember that! I think Yids [Andy Yiadom] went on quite a mazy run from our own half and I just tried to get myself in front of the defender, the ball came across and I managed to get a little bit on it to direct it in by the near post.
BFC: And that was your first League goal for the club! Although it wasn’t an all too memorable day for you, it will give you something positive to remember the day for…
JN: Yeah, it’s always nice to get off the mark, especially in front of your own fans. But we didn’t win the game, which is obviously the most important thing…but it’s always nice to get off the mark.
BFC: Definitely. But I think, after Saturday, the most important thing at the moment is you’re ok, you’re healthy and you’re back on the mend. Finally, there were a lot of worried faces in the crowd were receiving treatment and up off their seats clapping you off the pitch – do you have any message for those who showed you all that support?
Yes, it’s nice to hear what people have been saying and that people are concerned about me. It feels nice to feel that kind of love from everyone associated with the club. I just want to get fit as quickly as I can and get back playing again. It probably must have been a little bit scary for everyone …some of the boys said that my eyes had rolled into the back of my head…so fingers crossed I’ll be back soon and banging the goals in for everyone and getting points on the board. A massive ‘Thank You’ to all the fans who were asking after me and to the staff, especially Stew, who made sure I was ok.: JN
