A double-leg attack to the hip of Illinois’ Dan Stelter in a second-round match of the Midlands Championships left Chris Spangler in a daze.

The redshirt junior, who was the No. 1 seed in the 174-pound bracket of the two-day tournament, wrestled through it but soon found himself having to take a medical forfeit from the concussion — the fifth of his athletic career — he sustained in that match.

“I’ve had concussions in the past, so I kind of know what they feel like,” Spangler said. “I was a little bit dazed; you’re just not yourself when you get one.”

Spangler, who is ranked No. 6 in the nation at 174 pounds, is one of four starters on the ISU wrestling team to be sidelined by a concussion — an injury that affects the brain’s functions and can have severe repercussions in the future.

“Maybe you think of football when you think of concussions a little bit more, but the other sports have quite a few of them as well,” said Tim Weesner, assistant director of ISU athletic training. “With the amount of head contact [in wrestling], there’s going to be some injuries to the head.

“I think it’s definitely an issue that needs to be looked at with wrestling.”

Training for Spangler to return to the mat has already started, consisting of conditioning and light activity that increases in intensity as the week progresses.

Spangler said the coaching staff has aimed for him to return for the National Duals, which take place on Feb. 12 at Hilton Coliseum. However, he is not as fortunate as one of his teammates.

Thirty minutes into his second match of the season, Max Mayfield grazed the top of Boston’s Peter Ishiguro’s head, proceeding to be struck in the forehead and the top of his nose as a result of the scramble.

“It actually knocked me out and I didn’t remember much of it, getting knocked out,” Mayfield said. “But I just know that I didn’t feel very good afterwards.”

Mayfield broke his nose and suffered a concussion as a result, having to sit out of training for weeks on end. Numerous attempts to resume training to return to the mat had been met with uncomfortable headaches that have stifled his comeback.

On Monday, the doctors and athletic training staff decided Mayfield would not compete for the remainder of the season, a decision that was “devastating” for him.

“If someone tears an ACL, you can say, ‘In six months, they’re going to be good to go.’ If someone gets a concussion, it might be a week, it might be two weeks, it might be six months for the person [to recover],” Weesner said. “So you honestly really don’t know.”

As part of the recovery, Weesner said athletes who sustain a concussion are ordered to not use cellphones, computers or watch television to prevent the brain from processing visual stimuli and causing it more stress.

For Mayfield, it was especially tough trying to adhere to the guideline since he is a computer engineering major.

“After it happened, I was having a lot of trouble doing my work for school and whatever else I needed having to just sit in front of a computer for long periods of time,” Mayfield said.

With one year of eligibility remaining, Mayfield has taken his absence from the remainder of this season as an opportunity to return to 100 percent health for his last chance at making it on the medal stand.

“I had big plans for this season,” Mayfield said. “As far as wrestling goes, I felt the best I’ve ever felt. I was looking at being up there, but my body comes first and I’ve got to get that right.”

As for Spangler, who will also have one year of eligibility remaining after this season, a return to a 7-2 season with a clear shot at the 174-pound title is on the line.

“I want to get to get back this season and get to my end goal of winning nationals,” Spangler said. “I have to take those necessary steps to get back and be 100 percent as soon as I can.”