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<\/p>\n\u201cI got real worried because \u2026 I went to pick him up off the ground and he couldn\u2019t breathe. [Hughes said]: \u2018I am in real pain. Don\u2019t pick me up, let me get up myself\u2019,\u201d Fevola told his breakfast radio show on Fox.<\/p>\n
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In hospital: Dave Hughes was seriously hurt in the Legends Match at Marvel Stadium on Thursday.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI reckon that\u2019s when it happened, he literally could not get up off the ground. [Hughes said]: \u2018Don\u2019t touch me, don\u2019t touch me\u2019. He was laying there, a few people thought he was putting it on, but I thought he was in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
Holly Hughes said her husband had been in pain in bed at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not a good sound and I was like: \u2018Babe, I think we need to call an ambulance\u2019,\u201d Hughes said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he was like: \u2018Nah, I am fine, I am just a bit sore\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
While his ribs and lung will take time to heal, Hughes has escaped a spleen injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, the spleen looks OK. He has had an x-ray, he has had a CT scan,\u201d Holly Hughes said.<\/p>\n
All-Stars coach Shane Crawford had joked to his players in his pre-match speech that they needed to rough up the typically cheery Hughes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is one player from the Vics that I have really earmarked, and it\u2019s Dave Hughes,\u201d Crawford said, prompting his players to burst out with laughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care about the other players. They are all good players. They are old, they are slow. I want him [Hughes] to never put up his hand again [to play], so I want everyone to tackle him at some stage. And while he is down there, to really get into him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In pain: Victoria coach Tim Watson and Dave Hughes.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Holly Hughes said her husband had been the oldest player on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all fun and games to target Hughsey, but I think he was the oldest person out there. He is very lean at the moment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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A spokeswoman for the event said all \u201cappropriately qualified medical staff and procedures were in place\u201d as if the match had been an AFL game.<\/p>\n
After a six-year hiatus, the Legends Match was revived with a wave of fresh stars representing Victoria and the All Stars, a contest that carries the legacy of E.J. Whitten to help raise awareness and vital funds for prostate cancer research.<\/p>\n