Hearts midfielder Cammy Devlin believes the concussion protocols that helped him recover can benefit every grassroots athlete who experiences the injury.

It was a night game last February: Hearts versus St Mirren in the Scottish Cup. I remember everything about it, even how I felt immediately after clashing heads with one of their players. It wasn’t pain – it was more like shock. This time, my first thought was: I’m all right. Over the next six weeks, I learned a lot about concussion. Rule one: it’s different for everyone.

When it happened, I was assessed on the pitch and passed everything, so I played on until half-time. In the dressing room, the medical staff checked me again and I thought I was all right to keep going. Fifteen minutes later, I wasn’t so sure – and I wasn’t the only one. The referee that night, Don Robertson, started to check in on me. Then my teammates started telling me I looked a bit dazed, that I should go off.

I’d had a concussion before, and when the medical staff realised I’d suffered another, I thought it would be the same this time – two or three days of rest and then back to normal. We had another game that weekend, so that was my target. But this time, things started to get worse after a couple of days, not better.

I did a training session on the bike, then some running. That’s when I started to feel things getting worse. It’s so hard to describe how I was feeling. I had headaches that would come and go – but more than that, I just wasn’t myself. I wasn’t feeling dizzy, I could have a conversation, but I just wasn’t taking everything in. I’m usually this bubbly, outgoing guy, and I just wasn’t up for anything. I wasn’t me.  

Especially with concussion, you have to listen to your body, listen to your symptoms and remember that this is your brain – you’ve got to be careful. The medical team at Hearts were great. They knew that the best thing is time and building back slowly, so I just stopped everything I was doing.

I’m used to training with my mates and playing, being part of a team. But now, even going for a walk up the street to get a coffee would exhaust me. I’d sleep for hours in the middle of the day. I remember going to bed every night, just hoping that when I woke up in the morning, I'd feel normal. 

It wasn’t easy.

Support is important: you can’t do this by yourself. I wasn’t seeing my teammates much and my parents are back in Australia, but my girlfriend was great company and helped me to stay focused on my recovery. I was resting a lot – avoiding noisy environments (like Tynecastle on matchdays) and stressful situations (like Tynecastle on matchdays). The medical staff at Hearts gave me regular updates on my progress and when I might be able to get back. I’m sure I annoyed them quite a bit by calling and texting all the time!

The lowest point for me was about three weeks after the injury: I felt pretty much the same as I had shortly after it happened, like things just weren’t improving, so having those guys there to tell me, “it’s going to be okay” was vital. I just wanted to be with my mates, playing football.

Thankfully, over time – listening to the advice and doing the right things – I started to get back to normal.

I'm in a fortunate position – I could see the club doctor, call him whenever I wanted and get that reassurance and the help that I needed. But if you're not in that position, if you’re younger or playing at grassroots level, take advice from your own doctor and look to the support of your parents or your teammates. There are some simple steps to take that will help you stay on track and get back to the pitch after a concussion.

In my case, the target was always getting back to training and eventually playing with my teammates at Hearts. They were great with me; they took care of me at the start. When one day I felt confident enough to give them a kick, they kicked me back and we were back to normal. 

I learned a lot about concussion through this experience. I was lucky to have great support from my partner and my club, but many grassroots athletes go through similar injuries without that level of care and it’s important that as many of those players as possible have access to the same advice I was given. Concussion affects everyone differently. It can take time to recover and the symptoms can be a little scary. But if you get the right help, talk to the people who support you and follow the steps to recover, you’ll be back on the pitch before you know it.