Ben Grubb: No timeframe on Cornish Pirates forward's return after Ealing injury

Ben Grubb first joined Cornish Pirates on dual registration from Exeter in March and returned for this season

Cornish Pirates joint-head coach Alan Paver says there is no timeframe on when Ben Grubb might return to action after his injury at Ealing last week.

The forward, 21, who is on dual registration from Exeter Chiefs, suffered a head injury after 58 minutes and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

The game was subsequently abandoned and Grubb was released from hospital.

"What happened at the weekend was so unfortunate and it was quite shocking to see," Paver told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"But the good news is he made a pretty quick recovery off the back of that and now it'll be a case of him going through the gears with the [concussion] protocol."

Ealing were leading 12-0 in the Championship game at the time of Grubb's injury, but league rules state that if a game is called off after less than an hour it must be replayed, rather than the result standing.

With no ambulance available at the ground after Grubb departed for hospital the game had to be called off, because of a lack of medical cover.

"He had a scan straight away and then he will be referred to a specialist and that specialist will take you through the gears, and then when they feel he's ready to start the concussion protocol I imagine Exeter will start that and get him to a point for him to return back to training," Paver added.

"There's no definitive amount of time, it just depends on how he reacts as he reaches each stage.

"Sometimes it can be weeks and sometimes it can be a little bit longer, but the main thing is he goes though the protocol in the correct manner."

Paver says the decision to call the game off was the correct one, after seeing the severity of the injury.

"For us it was quite shocking and very upsetting.

"I've seen a lot of things and I've seen many knockouts, but the fact that it was such a severe knockout and he didn't respond well when he woke up, that was the bit that was upsetting.

"We had all the medical staff, we were lucky to have so many experienced people on the pitch.

"To see it was distressing for everybody and I think the right thing to do was put the players inside temporarily because there was no clear timeframe, we just needed to make sure he was OK."