Kade Kolodjashnij has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2017 season due to lingering concussion symptoms.

After ongoing treatment Gold Coast medical staff have made the decision in consultation with the 21-year-old, with his ongoing health and welfare the number one priority.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Barry Rigby, told goldcoastfc.com.au Kolodjashnij has been progressing well in his recovery and continues to show signs of improvement each week.

“Kades actually doing quite well at the moment,” Dr Rigby said.

“As you know he suffered some concussion symptoms over the last few weeks and he’s been pulled from playing.

“He has improved but when we did try and train him again, he again recurred with symptoms suggesting he had ongoing concussion.

“In terms of Kade’s progress from here on in, he will not be playing for the rest of the season, we’ve made a medical decision in his best interest.

“He will continue to have some further testing and some active treatment and we’re hopeful that he will continue to make a good recovery.

SUNS medical staff are optimistic the defender will resume full time training on the first day or pre-season.

“Hopefully he’ll be in a position to resume full training and playing next year but we’ll monitor that space over the off-season,” Dr Rigby said.

“He’s been undergoing some test and monitoring him medically, he’s making good progress so we’re very happy.

Concussion has been a topic of discussion and growing concern across all levels of sport in previous years, and Dr Rigby reiterated the serious nature of the issue.

“Concussion is a big issue, it’s something we take very very seriously,” Dr Rigby said.

“Kade’s had a couple of knocks over his career, as most AFL footballers have.

“More recently he had an injury and subsequent to that had some ongoing symptoms that just didn’t resolve in a time appropriate way.”