AFL legend Matthew Richardson has revealed he suffers from memory loss and fears that concussions throughout his career may have left him with brain injuries.

The former Richmond player, whose career spanned 282 games, is now an ambassador for Brain Injury Awareness Week, and said that an important phone call he had no memory of the next day caused his greatest concern, according to a News Limited report.

“I knew I had to make an important phone call, so I did and got told: ‘Mate, we spoke for 20 minutes yesterday,'” said Richardson.

“I started thinking about the knocks I’ve taken in my ­career and whether they’ll have any long-term effects.”

The 38-year-old said that there were several times during his AFL career when he was knocked unconscious.

Brain injury amongst footballers has been in the spotlight again recently, with the recent retirement of Brisbane Lions champion Jonathan Brown.

The 32-year-old received strong medical advice against continuing his career after a dramatic head knock in June, according to a Fairfax report.

The 256-game legend said that the accident was a “wake-up call”.

“It wasn’t worth the risk of going out there and copping another head knock and jeopardising my future with my wife and kids,” said Brown.