Dai Young has been speaking about the “horrible wait” for news on his son Thomas following his worrying neck injury on the weekend.
Happily, Wasps and Wales flanker Thomas is now back home having received the all clear following a night in hospital out in Ireland.
But there were concerning scenes as he was laid out on the pitch at Limerick’s Thomond Park on Sunday after taking a heavy blow to the back of the head against Munster.
His father Dai, the director of rugby at Cardiff, has been talking about what the family went through seeing the situation unfold on television.
Thomas, who will be joining his dad at the Arms Park this summer, received lengthy treatment on the pitch before being stretchered off and taken to hospital.
“On the field, he was having pins and needles down both arms,” said Young.
“So it always looks a little bit worse than what it is in terms of the parent’s point of view.
“It’s something you don’t want to see really.
“It was a horrible wait to make sure he was alright.
“It’s not something any parent wants to watch really, is it?
“But I knew he was in fantastic hands with Ali James, the head of medicine there at Wasps. I knew he would have the best care.
“We had to wait a little bit, but that’s expected really right in the middle of the game.
“We had a call then just before the second half started, just saying it was more precaution than anything, but that everything had to be checked thoroughly.
“He had movement and strength in his arms and his legs.
“They were concerned about it because of the pins and needles and you can never be over-cautious, but we did have a little bit of reassurance that hopefully things weren’t maybe as bad as it looked, because it didn’t look great.
“As a parent, it’s always terrible to see one of your kids having a knee, ankle or shoulder injury.
“But obviously anything to do with the neck is always a main concern really.”
Delivering an update on his son’s condition, former Wales and Lions prop Young said: “He has had the CT and MRI scans and he is all clear.
“He got home last night about 9pm.
“He was saying how good the hospital was and how many strings Munster pulled to get him sorted as quickly as possible.
“He is pretty bashed up as it was an impact on the back of the neck.
“If I’m totally honest, I couldn’t really go back and look at it again. It’s not something you want to look at it, is it really?
“He is certainly a bit bashed up at the minute, but thankfully it’s nothing serious.
“I am sure his mum will go down and give him a bit of a cwtch today because he only lives half hour from us at the minute.
“Thankfully he is all right.
“I am sure he will be back in a few weeks' time.
“He’s tough like his mother!”
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