Wallabies centre Foketi cleared of major spinal damage

Australia centre Lalakai Foketi was cleared of major spinal damage Friday after suffering a neck injury in training, but the long-term implications for his career remain unclear.

The 29-year-old, part of the Wallabies’ 2023 World Cup squad, was rushed to hospital on Thursday after hurting himself in a ruck during a NSW Waratahs training session in Sydney.

Waratahs coach Darren Coleman said a CT scan was “positive that there won’t be anything too permanent” but cautioned that Foketi was “by no stretch out of the woods yet”.

“He had that (scan) yesterday and that showed no major spinal damage or no vertebral cracks or things like that,” Coleman said ahead of the ‘Tahs opening Super Rugby game against the Queensland Reds on Saturday.

“I’m obviously not a doctor but he’s just got to stay in a little bit longer now to have an MRI (scan). That’ll determine what sort of soft-tissue damage there is around ligaments, if there’s been any bleeding around the spinal cord, those sorts of things.

“He’s by no stretch out of the woods yet, but the first news is all pretty positive that there won’t be anything too permanent or debilitating.”

Coleman added that Foketi would be released soon in a neck brace to begin his recovery at home.

“I really hope for La’s sake that it’s not a career-threatening thing but if you’ve got instability in that area, risk and reward needs to be taken into consideration,” he said.

Foketi joins a long list of Waratahs’ players on the sidelines with injuries, including fellow Wallabies David Porecki, Ned Hanigan and Lachlan Swinton.

Coleman said the incident had been distressing for the team.

“It happened in front of his teammates. It wasn’t great. It was confronting for the team when you see your mate go like that, and it sort of hits home,” he said.

Foketi’s injury will see Max Jorgensen — selected for the World Cup but ruled out after fracturing his fibula — come into the starting side at fullback with Joey Walton shifting to the centres.

mp/arb/pst

AFP

(NAMPA / AFP)