By 1news and is republished with permission
Melbourne Storm’s coach says he doesn’t know if Tongan rugby league star Eli Katoa will ever play the code again.
The 25-year-old underwent brain surgery in November after suffering seizure activity due to multiple head knocks before and during a Test against the Kiwis.
He suffered a horrific head knock before the match began, but was allowed to take the field, where he suffered two more blows.
The former Warrior posted on Instagram at the time that his “recovery is going well and hopefully I can keep ticking all of the boxes that I need!”
Craig Bellamy told Channel 7 that Katoa was “doing really well at the moment,” but was unsure if doctors would clear him to return to the game.
“I don’t know if he’ll play next year… I don’t know if he’ll play again,” Bellamy said.
“The doctors haven’t made that decision, and I don’t know when that decision will get made to be quite honest.
“I imagine after a certain amount of time he’ll have more tests and go from there.”
Bellamy described Katoa as “one hell of a player”.
“It was a major injury, and we want him to live the rest of his life in a normal way, so fingers crossed.
“But we’d love to have him back playing footy and playing with us.”
Despite being ruled out for the entire NRL season, Katoa still working with the Storm squad in a mentorship role.
Bellamy said the role has been instrumental in advancing the development of younger players.
