St Kilda coach Alan Richardson is adamant luckless forward Paddy McCartin has a bright AFL future ahead of him despite his alarming history of concussions.
McCartin won't play at any level this weekend after he was knocked out playing for Sandringham in the VFL on Saturday.
It was the sixth concussion the 21-year-old has suffered, but Richardson said thorough medical testing strongly indicates he won't have a long-term issue.
"Paddy would've played this week if he had have pulled up well but the reality is he's still a little bit off and so he won't play," Richardson told Fox Footy's AFL 360 on Monday night.
"He's very likely to play the week after.
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"Long term he's going to be fine ... our medical staff are really confident.
"Our medical staff, our experts, are telling us that he's going to be fine. There's a fair bit of testing done in that space to make sure that they're giving players and coaches really good advice, and our advice is that Paddy will be fine."
McCartin has been restricted to 22 games since he was taken first overall at the 2014 draft.
