- Kai Pearce-Paul suffered a terrible injury last weekend
- He suffered a huge gash on his leg during the win over Souths
- Pearce-Paul required emergency surgery for the injury
Football star Kai Pearce-Paul has shared details of the moment he first realised he had suffered a serious injury that required emergency surgery.
The Newcastle Knights forward’s leg was left reminiscent of a ‘hotdog bun’ after he was blasted by his boot from team-mate Dylan Lucas during the team’s win over Souths on Saturday night.
According to Knights coach Adam O’Brien, the England international’s leg was in the same condition as that of a shark bite victim.
Pearce-Paul, 23, underwent emergency surgery to clean and close the wound, which was almost six inches deep on his shin.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t know [at the time]’ he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I didn’t really notice it until a couple plays later when there was a stop. I looked down and thought it was just an old scrape. Then I looked again and I thought, ‘Oh.’ It was open and it looked like a hot dog bun with a little bit of meat hanging out of it.
I am next to [team-mate] Phoenix Crossland and I thought, ‘Phoen, is that my bone?’ There was white in the middle. He cursed when he saw it. I literally went straight to the doctor. I don’t know if it was the bone or the flesh that was a different color, but it was so deep — and it wasn’t pretty.’
Knights’ medical staff treated the wound carefully before he was taken to the hospital that night. He underwent surgery Sunday morning, during which the lesion was closed with internal and external sutures.
WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT
Footballer Kai Pearce-Paul suffered this horrific injury against South Sydney on Saturday
The Newcastle Knights forward surprised his teammates with his composure after the game
His team-mates were astonished by Pearce-Paul’s composure on the sidelines, with the England international eager to play in Sunday’s match against the Dolphins.
“I’m actually pretty good at that kind of thing,” he said. “I was more in disbelief than anything. I didn’t really understand how it happened. It was more of a shock and I just thought, ‘What the hell happened here?’
‘[But] I was very interested when they looked at it. I’m not a prude. The guys said I looked very nonchalant when they looked at it. It’s just a long piece of my leg. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would.’
Pearce-Paul could use a shin guard to protect the injury when he returns for the game against the Dolphins.
