By Peter Ryan
Essendon utility Nik Cox will not play again this season after consultation with the AFL’s concussion panel, but is aiming to continue his career in 2026.
The 23-year-old suffered a head knock before Christmas that kept him sidelined for an extended period. He returned to play against North Melbourne in the VFL, but was again sidelined as his concussion symptoms returned after his following match against Sydney.
Nik Cox’s career will continue next yearCredit: Getty Images
He appeared before the AFL’s concussion panel in June at a similar time as West Coast veteran Jeremy McGovern, however, unlike the Eagles premiership defender, Cox was not told to retire immediately.
Instead, he was provided with a return-to-play pathway, which included sitting out the rest of the season.
“After meeting with an independent AFL medical panel regarding my concussion history, I’m pleased that I’ve been cleared to continue my playing career. Whilst I’m disappointed that I won’t return to the field for the remainder of the 2025 season, this time away from the game will be used to focus fully on my health, recovery, and building the strongest possible foundation heading into pre-season,” Cox said.
“I’m incredibly grateful to my club, teammates, medical staff, and everyone who has supported me through what’s been a challenging and uncertain period. I’ve learned a lot about myself over the past few months, and I’m more motivated than ever to get back to doing what I love.
My focus now is on continuing to work closely with specialists and the club to make sure I’m in the best place physically and mentally to return to football.”
Cox took a fortnight’s leave at the advice of the panel and then returned to the Hangar to meet with club officials early this week to discuss the plan of attack for the top-10 pick in 2020 who has now played 53 matches for Essendon.
The talented utility had an outstanding opening season, playing 22 matches before injuries derailed the following two campaigns.
He then played 20 matches in 2024, missing one match after being put in the concussion protocols following a knock against the Gold Coast.
Cox is contracted until the end of 2026 and the club’s football manager Dan McPherson said the Bombers supported Cox’s road map to return.
“Nik has endured a really difficult period with his ongoing concussion symptoms, and we’re fully committed to helping him recover both physically and mentally,” McPherson said.
“After meeting with the panel in June, the recommendation for Nik to step away from footy for the remainder of this year was one that we accepted, with the view to giving him the best chance of getting back to his best when he returns, both on and off-field.”
Bombers coach Brad Scott, meanwhile, revealed on Fox Footy that injury plagued defender Zach Reid would need surgery on his hamstring.
Elsewhere, the news was similarly grim for another young gun with Richmond confirming that emerging midfielder Sam Lalor would miss the rest of the season after suffering his second hamstring injury for 2025 in his comeback game against Geelong on Saturday.
The Tigers will consult surgeons this week as they contemplate whether an operation may be necessary to strengthen the 18-year-old’s hamstring structure.
Sam Lalor starred early in the season but has been struck down by hamstring injuries.Credit: Getty Images
Richmond high-performance manager Ben Serpell said it was disappointing for Lalor to again suffer a hamstring injury in the opening minutes of his first game back for six weeks, but said it may have still occurred regardless of his injury history.
“The injury mechanism here for Sam this time was very different to his original injury mechanism,” Serpell said.
“He sustained the injury in a tackle. I think anyone who throws their body at the game [in the same way] as he did, and credit to him for doing that, is going to put their body at some risk, irrespective of their injury history.”
Serpell said the club would explore surgical options for last year’s top pick in the national draft.
“We are a bit concerned about the integrity of the hamstring structure,” he said.
“As part of that we will consult a few surgeons over the next little while to see if there is some surgical intervention available for us.”
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