Retired Collingwood defender Nathan Murphy has shared a worrying update after being forced to retire last month at just 24 years old.
The 2023 premiership winner retired from AFL in April to ensure he lives a “full and healthy life” after suffering multiple concussions.
The Magpies, on the advice of the AFL’s medical concussion panel, decided to ‘medically retire’ Murphy, who suffered his 10th concussion in last year’s grand final.
Although the jury cleared him to play in December, he opted to retire after withdrawing from training in February.
Collingwood premiership defender Nathan Murphy (pictured) has revealed he is still suffering from concussion symptoms six weeks after his forced retirement
Murphy was forced into medical retirement after a series of concussions, including one he suffered in the 2023 AFL grand final
Now, more than six weeks after his retirement, Murphy revealed he still feels concussion symptoms on a daily basis.
“It was tough watching the boys play,” he said.
‘I’m still battling the symptoms every day and working with professionals to hopefully improve that.
‘I’ve had great support and I’m so lucky to have that, other people don’t have that to offer.
“I’m in a really good space and focusing on my health with good people around me.”
Murphy is the second player this year to retire due to concussion during last year’s final, after Melbourne midfielder Angus Brayshaw.
Melbourne Demons star Angus Brayshaw (pictured center with his fiancée Danielle Frawley, right) was also forced into early retirement due to repeated head impacts
Former No. 1 draft pick Paddy McCartin had to leave the game twice due to concussion, first with St Kilda and later after a comeback with the Sydney Swans
He is the sixth AFL player to retire due to concussion in the past year, joining Brayshaw and Paddy McCartin [Sydney]Paul Zaadman [Adelaide]Marcus Adams [Brisbane]and Max Lynch [Hawthorn].
An alarming one in ten AFL players are hiding a concussion, according to a recent study.
Murphy now supports Connor’s Run, Australia’s largest event for pediatric brain cancer.
He, along with Essendon stars Archie Perkins and Collingwood’s Andrew McGrath and Brayden Maynard, are ambassadors for the event on September 15.
Connor’s Run commemorates Robert Connor Dawes, who died of brain cancer at the age of 18.
“I’m an ex-Brighton Grammar boy, and I remember being in Year 8 in my first year and we had the big funeral for Connor,” Murphy said.
“It was great and great to see the community aspect and I’ve been doing the run since freshman year. As a retired footballer I can now jump on board.’
The AFL is currently negotiating a settlement to support former players with head injuries. Peter Jess, a prominent advocate for concussion awareness in the AFL, suggests the league should allocate up to $20 million annually to these players.