Leeds assistant coach Chev Walker must have felt a worrying déjà vu moment when Rhinos star Zane Tetevano collapsed at training.
The Super League club has revealed their New Zealand forward suffered a stroke recently - caused by a hole in the heart which now requires surgery. But, remarkably, Tetevano, 32, hopes to return to action by the end of the season. And ex-Great Britain centre Walker knows first-hand that players can make full recovery from heart surgeries.
At Bradford Bulls, he played alongside Adrian Purtell, the Australian centre who had a heart attack on the team bus travelling back from facing Leeds at Magic Weekend in 2012. Purtell was just 27. He made his comeback 10 months later. On Tetevano’s medical ordeal, Walker recalled: “We were all concerned. He just looked confused. Knowing Zane we know he looks after himself.
