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.
“He isn’t a big drinker or anything and is really fit but the club medical team reacted really quickly. Fortunately they got to him fast and everything that needed to be done was done. It was a shock but he got sorted. Zane is a competitor but his main concern is he’s here, alive and kicking. His health is more important than the game. If he wants to carry on playing then the club will support him and help him get back out there. We just have to make sure he's right to go.”
And Walker, 40, added: “Purts was different to Zane. He’ll admit he didn’t live the healthiest life. But he came back and the stand-out thing with Purts was he was determined to get out on the field to prove he could and that he still had something to offer and not let it hold him back.
"His attitude was that he was a young man and he was going to live like a young man. And he did. Some people with a different mindset might have aged quickly but he got on with it and he was inspirational. He had no fears, met it head on and got himself back. He’s still playing to this day."
Ex-Sydney Roosters prop Tetevano, whose Leeds team-mate Ash Handley has signed a new three-year deal, said: “I’d like to thank the club’s medical staff, the paramedics, doctors and nurses (at Leeds General Infirmary) who looked after me when I collapsed.
“I knew I was in the best possible care and I owe them a lot. I will never know how lucky I was. I am confident that I will be ready to return to action as soon as I am cleared to do so.”
Tetevano will take part in the Run for All Leeds 10k on Sunday raising money to support the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund.
You can donate here.
