Dom Young in 'frightening' ordeal ahead of NRL switch to Roosters
The former Newcastle Knights flyer was struck down by a nasty infection that left him in hospital.
Sydney Roosters recruit Dom Young is expected to make a full recovery after being taken to a hospital in the UK with a "frightening" infection that spread to his brain. The former Newcastle winger - who enjoyed a breakout season in 2023 to help inspire the Knights' stunning NRL finals charge - had been suffering headaches and a sinus infection when he flew back to his homeland to represent England in their Test series.
Young’s condition worsened significantly due to the long flight and he was admitted to hospital more than a week ago, missing England opening match against Tonga. He is expected to be sidelined for the entire three-match series. The towering winger's manager Michael Cincotto said the 22-year-old was recovering well but shed light on the flyer's scary ordeal.
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“It’s come out of the blue and was something that definitely needed to be sorted,” Cincotto said. “It pushed his condition over the edge. He wasn’t good. Dom had severe headaches.
“The flight exacerbated the infection, pushed it out and created this issue. Essentially it’s a sinus infection. It just went bang after the flight.
The towering winger initially thought the issue would remedy itself until he became sensitive to light and had trouble opening and closing his eyes. Young's manager described it as a "frightening" situation for his player and said it could have been worse if he hadn't been admitted to hospital when he was.
“He was admitted to hospital to get it checked out," he added. He is doing well and there are really good signs...
“It’s a sinus infection so it’s brain related. It could have been bad or can be bad but his recovery, and the signs he is showing every day, it’s obvious the antibiotics are working. It was pretty frightening.”
Dom Young not expected to feature for England
It's unlikely Young will feature in England's remaining two Tests against Tonga and will likely return to Australia ahead of his first season with the Roosters in 2024. "We'll check in on him earlier this week but it's doubtful (he'll play in this series)," said England coach Shaun Wane after the first Test in St Helens.
Young's manager echoed those sentiments from the England coach but says he's confident the 22-year-old will be fully recovered and ready to fire for the Roosters when pre-season training kicks off. “Dom will be ready to go for the (NRL) season, without any doubt. There won’t be issues with that. He is walking around (in hospital) and there isn’t any real cause for concern.
Young scored 25 tries for Newcastle last year and is expected to compete with Joseph Suaalii and Daniel Tupou to nail down a wing spot for Trent Robinson's side. The Knights winger was perhaps controversially denied the Dally M Try of the Year in 2023, with his gravity-defying put-down against the Dragons in round 27 losing out to a match-winning four-pointer from St George Illawarra’s Mathew Feagai against the Roosters in round 12.
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