Scan to decide if Joey plays on
By Stuart Honeysett and Peter Kogoy
April 07, 2007
A CAT scan on Tuesday will determine the long-term playing future of Andrew Johns, although the Newcastle captain last night declared he was confident of overcoming his latest neck injury.
News of Johns' injury forced sports betting operators to suspend markets yesterday after he was ruled out of tonight's match against Melbourne at EnergyAustralia Stadium, but not before friend and well-known Sydney punter Eddie Hayson allegedly gambled $200,000 on a Storm victory.
The 32-year-old Newcastle halfback sustained the injury at training on Thursday night after colliding with a team-mate.
He was examined after the session by specialist Neil Halpin, who took him to spinal specialist John Yeo yesterday.
Yeo saved Johns' career in 2003 after operating on the Knights halfback for a bulging disc in his neck. But it is believed the player has only injured a facet joint this time.
Johns will have the scans in Newcastle and the results will be examined by Halpin and Yeo.
If it is a facet joint, Johns would require a cortisone injection and could play against South Sydney in Gosford tomorrow week.
Reflecting concerns about the potential seriousness of the injury, Johns' brother Matthew told Channel Nine viewers last night: "I don't know if he has got anything left to prove."
Johns himself told Nine it was the second time he had injured his neck this week after jarring it during Monday night's 48-18 loss to Canberra. However he played down the injury.
"It's not the same injury of four years ago," Johns said. "I'll probably miss a couple of games but I'll know more when I have the scans.
"Obviously there's going to be hysteria about this but let's wait until we get the scan results.
"I've got no pins and needles in the arms like last time, so I knew it was just a knock. I'm confident I'll be back on the field."
Halpin said Johns had complained that his neck was very sore when he examined him after training and, after contacting Yeo on Thursday night, the pair travelled to the professor's Sydney home yesterday for advice.
Yeo believes he has injured a facet joint but given most medical centres are shut down for the Easter weekend, the earliest Johns can have scans to confirm the diagnosis is Tuesday.
"The indications are it's not related (to the 2003 injury) and it's not as serious and he should be OK," Halpin said. "But you can't take any chances with a neck because the consequences are potentially catastrophic. Until we have scans we can't be definite. We'll have an answer on Tuesday."
Hayson, who owns horses with the Johns brothers, was allegedly behind a $250,000 betting plunge involving Newcastle last year.
Hayson is alleged to have cleaned out bookmakers after Johns injured his neck at training and was ruled out of a match against the Warriors in April - a game won by the Auckland-based club 26-22.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,21517048-23214,00.html
