Colby Armstrong "Hides" Concussion Symptoms

[BROKEN*ORBITAL]

He tried to at least. Now he's out until whenever..............

TORONTO -- There was no quiet room for Colby Armstrong. No imPACT test, either.

The Toronto Maple Leafs didn't have a chance to follow any of the guidelines set out in the NHL's concussion protocol because they were unaware the forward was even experiencing symptoms until almost 48 hours after the collision that caused them.

Armstrong was injured during Saturday night's game against Vancouver but didn't let the team's medical staff know he was feeling nauseous until Monday afternoon.

"It took us all by complete shock because we had no idea that he had his bell rung the other night," Leafs coach Ron Wilson said after Monday's 3-2 shootout loss to Los Angeles. "He kind of kept that from us."

In fact, Armstrong told reporters on Monday morning that he expected to play against the Kings despite a minor foot injury. Now he'll be sidelined indefinitely with something much more serious.

Wilson offered a surprisingly frank recap of how the situation played out.

"Well here's what happened," he said. "In the game the other night, (Armstrong) hit Ryan Kesler and actually he cracked his toe, but that wasn't an issue. He didn't tell the trainers or the doctors yesterday that he had his bell rung. (This afternoon) he was nauseated, blurry vision, so he's got a concussion and we didn't know that until later in the afternoon.

"He's going to be out however long he needs to be out now."

The 29-year-old winger has missed time with a variety of ailments over the last year and a half, playing just nine games for the Maple Leafs this season. Wilson hinted that that may have played a role in his attempt to hide the concussion.

"Things have been going so badly for him with injuries," said the coach.

Wilson indicated the player felt nauseous after riding a stationary bike on Sunday and got even more sick after participating in Monday's morning skate.

The team didn't even need to put him through a concussion test to diagnose his concussion.

"He's sick, threw up today and (has) a headache and blurry vision -- you don't need an imPACT test at that point," said Wilson.

[Oilfield316]

If I hear another player going down with a concussion, Im gonna hurl.... literally! This concussion thing is becoming absurd and extremely alarming.

[Loosey]

Bizarre - not because he hid it, that actually makes sense given his luck lately - but the amount of concussions and on similar contact.

[Captain Crunch28]

Let's soften pads and remove the instigator.

Leave the red line out

[Leafsnation420]

Steckel has the Flu, quite badly. Lets hope Colby just has the same thing, dehydration can cause most of those symptoms combined with the Flu. I didn't see anything happen that would cause a long term head injury.

Let's soften pads and remove the instigator.

Leave the red line out

Thanks Don, I agree.

[Leafs_Fan18]

The only way to cut down on concusions in the NHL is to go to soft padding on the shoulders and elbows. This is something Don Cherry has spoken about but the NHL are acting like ostriches on the equipment issue and have their heads firmly planted in the sand ( or their posteriors you decide)