Essendon youngster Nik Cox is entrenched in a frustrating "holding pattern" as he continues to battle ongoing concussion symptoms following an incident late last year.
Cox has yet to reach his full potential after being taken with Pick 8 in the 2021 National Draft, but looked to be settled in Brad Scott's side after 20 outings last year.
However, the talented utility has struggled to contribute in the pre-season meaningfully, and faces a relatively uncertain future in the interim.
Essendon football boss Dan McPherson spoke on 3AW about the troubles Cox has faced since.
"Right at the moment, he's having trouble with concussion issues," McPherson said.
"He had a training incident prior to Christmas, he got tackled and came out of it with slight concussion symptoms.
"Unfortunately he's been unable to shake those. He's been able to progress a little bit but every time he gets going, the symptoms come back.
"He's in a bit of a holding pattern. You have to treat those symptoms seriously and until they subside sufficiently, he's probably treading water."
After bursting onto the scene in 2021, playing all games in his debut season, Cox found himself sidelined with a range of injuries that limited his output to 11 matches in the following two seasons.
Returning to the senior side, the 22-year-old looked poised to take his career to new heights but copped a knock to the head in Round 22, ruling him out for the remainder of 2024.
The timeline for Cox's return remains uncertain.
The Bombers will have one final tune-up against Geelong on Tuesday evening (February 25) before setting their sights on their Opening Round clash against Gold Coast.
