An amateur Newcastle rugby league player is facing the possibility of life in a wheelchair after breaking his neck in several places after a horror tackle.
Windale Eagles back-rower Damian Jobson, 35, was playing against the University of Newcastle on Saturday when he hit the knee of an opposition player as he went in for a tackle.
Mr Jobson’s wife Brooke said her husband had surgery on Saturday night but the prognosis was “as bad as it can get”.
“We’re praying everything is going to be OK, but we’re just not so sure at this stage,” she told the Newcastle Herald.
Mr Jobson cannot feel from the shoulders down, she said.
He underwent specialist testing at the Royal North Shore hospital last night.
Windale Eagles Rugby League Football Club secretary Rob Thompson said the club has launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the young father’s treatment.
“They’re a very tight-knit, strong family and it’s just such an unfortunate accident,” he said.
Three players from the Hunter region have had spinal injuries as a result of football games in as many years.
Knights player Alex McKinnon was left a quadriplegic after a tackle in an NRL match in 2014.
Maitland Blacks Rugby hooker Dom Punch suffered a similar fate last year.
Local rugby league administrators are set to launch an inquiry.
© ninemsn 2016
