Tragic news for footy star Corey Harawira-Naera after suffering a seizure on the pitch mid-match
- Corey Harawira-Naera last played in May
- NRL star, 28, suffered a seizure on the field against Souths
- Coach Ricky Stuart called the situation ‘a tragedy’
Raiders forward Corey Harawira-Naera’s NRL career appears to be over following his mid-match confrontation against the Rabbitohs in May.
Harawira-Naera, 28, has not returned to the field since and Canberra coach Ricky Stuart admitted the forward will have to retire.
“It’s really sad for the kid… it’s a tragedy really,” Stuart said of the Kiwi international.
‘The medical reports we are receiving indicate that it is very unlikely that he will play again.
“At 28, that’s tough and he’s been good for us.”
Raiders forward Corey Harawira-Naera’s rugby league career appears to be over following his mid-match confrontation against the Rabbitohs in May
Harawira-Naera, 28, has not returned to the pitch since – and coach Ricky Stuart has admitted the striker will have to retire
Stuart said Broad sports world the club ‘supports him and is looking for a path after football’ because they ‘would like to keep him in the game.’
They will also explore the possibility of an exemption from the NRL salary cap as Harawira-Naera is advised to hang up his boots for medical reasons.
In scenes that left many football fans squirming, players from both South Sydney and Canberra formed a protective ring around Harawira-Naera as he lay on the ground receiving treatment.
Seconds earlier, the back rower had fallen to the ground, forcing the match to be halted for ten minutes at the Accor Stadium as doctors rushed onto the pitch to treat him.
“Giving the game away crossed my mind when it first happened,” Harawira-Naera said a month after the incident.
‘It was a shock and my family felt the same.
‘What really touched me was my five-year-old son. He saw it on TV and doesn’t want to play football anymore. Luckily he wasn’t at the game.’
At the time of the seizure, players from both South Sydney and Canberra formed a protective ring around Harawira-Naera as he lay on the grass receiving treatment.
Images of his collapse left many football fans sick and sad
Raiders club medical expert Dr Greg Macleod confirmed that Harawira-Naera ‘we have constant testing to make sure we’re not missing anything serious.”
‘Elevated enzymes are an indication that there has been some pressure on the heart. That’s why we’re treating it with some caution,” he said.
‘We just have to find out what’s causing it. “If you look at the vision, it looks more like something neurological than cardiac.
“He’s had a seizure, but he doesn’t collapse and have a seizure, which is the usual heart story, he has a seizure and then collapses.”