Tongan and Melbourne Storm forward Eli Katoa is hoped to be well enough to leave hospital in Auckland later this week following treatment for a brain bleed suffered during the recent Pacific Championships.
When he begins the next phase of what is expected to be a long recovery, one of the few NRL players with personal experience of such an injury, New Zealand Warriors veteran Te Maire Martin, says he’s ready to help in any way he can.
Martin, 30, was forced out of the NRL in 2019 after falling ill before a match during his third season with the Cowboys, with subsequent scans revealing a bleed on the brain—the exact cause of which was never identified.
After an extended period away from the game, Martin eventually returned to the field in 2022 with the Brisbane Broncos and, in a sadly ironic twist, made his international return for New Zealand just three weeks ago in the same game Katoa suffered his current injuries.
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Speaking with AAP, Martin explained that while he doesn’t personally know Katoa he does have experience of talking athletes through similar recovery situations.
“I’ve had a few people reach out to me from other sports (to talk about my injury recovery),” Martin said.
“If he (Katoa) reached out to me I would happily give him some advice, but he’s probably getting bombarded with messages.”
Even should he be discharged from hospital this week, 25-year-old Katoa will remain in New Zealand until he gets medical clearance to fly home to Melbourne.
According to reports in the Sydney Morning Herald, the NRL’s Integrity Unit has completed its investigation into Katoa’s injuries but will not make its findings public until they are confident of Katoa’s full recovery.