NORTH Melbourne spearhead Ben Brown feels sorry for Brodie Grundy in the wake of the Magpie ruckman's tackle that left the Kangaroos star concussed on Saturday night.
Brown told reporters on Monday morning he had recovered well after the second-quarter incident at Etihad Stadium, which saw him spend most of Saturday night under observation at Epworth hospital.
"I'm actually feeling really good. I pulled up well, not too many problems. I had a bit of a headache yesterday but that's pretty much subsided today," Brown said.
"They ran the CT scans just to make sure my head and my neck were all good and they were fine, so it was all positive news."
Grundy pinned Brown's arms in the tackle and, in a second motion, turned and drove him into the ground, with the Kangaroo's head absorbing the brunt of the impact.
The Magpie will face MRP scrutiny for the incident, but Brown holds no grudges.
"He sent me a text and that was really nice to see from him, and I think he was really remorseful afterwards," Brown said.
"I've seen a little bit of the vision of what he had to say and I kind of feel bad for him as well because these kind of decisions are really split-second ones in games, so I hope he's feeling all right as well.
"I've looked back at it and it didn't look like Brodie was trying to hurt me in any way. It's always difficult when you're in those situations because we are taught to tackle to pin the arms and to try to get a guy to ground.
"So I can appreciate that it was a really split-second decision and I obviously don't have any hard feelings towards him."
Brown is cautiously optimistic he will be fit to play Hawthorn in Launceston on Sunday, but both he and North are adamant his long-term health is their biggest concern.
"Our doctor, Richard Saw, monitored Ben very closely [on Sunday] after he was discharged from hospital and was pleased with his progress," North football chief Cameron Joyce said.
"We will obviously take a very cautious approach with him this week and will be guided by the doctors as to whether he'll be available for selection.
"However, that's the furthest thing from our minds right now. Ben's health is our main concern and but we're hopeful he'll be given the green light.
"We will give Ben as much time as we can before making a call on his availability depending on how he progresses through the week."