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\nEli Katoa has posted photos from his time in hospital after surgery for a brain bleed.
\nPhoto: Instagram\/Supplied\n<\/p>\n
Tongan rugby league star Eli Katoa says his recovery from brain surgery is going well and he hopes to return to the sport.<\/p>\n
The Melbourne Storm second-rower will miss the 2026 NRL season [https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/sport\/577662\/tonga-rugby-league-star-eli-katoa-has-surgery-after-suffering-seizure-activity-during-kiwis-test-match, as he recuperates from the surgery for a brain bleed.<\/p>\n
Katoa, 25, collided with a teammate before a Pacific Championships test against the Kiwis at Eden Park on 2 November and then suffered two more headknocks during the match. He was taken to hospital after seizure activity and had surgery overnight.<\/p>\n
The former Warrior has posted on [embed: https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DRob5puEib-\/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=b4564489-44a8-45ad-9406-1f62e882f94b Instagram] that he is now back at home “and I’m in a good place now”.<\/p>\n
“My recovery is going well and hopefully I can keep ticking all of the boxes that I need!<\/p>\n
“And to the Storm fans, in God’s timing, ‘I’ll be back soon’.”<\/p>\n
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\nEli Katoa has posted this photo of partner Tuitofa Aloua helping him down hospital stairs.
\nPhoto: Instagram\/Supplied\n<\/p>\n
Katoa posted a photo of partner Tuitofa Aloua helping him walk down hospital stairs and said: “To my girl, this woman has been amazing, strong and sticking by my side through it all.<\/p>\n
“I appreciate you and I love you so much.”<\/p>\n
He also thanked fans for their messages and prayers, and the Storm club and the Tongan rugby league community for their support.<\/p>\n
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\nEli Katoa is attended by a trainer, after his injury in the test against the Kiwis.
\nPhoto: NRL Photos\/Photosport\n<\/p>\n
Katoa had not had a head injury assessment for the knock he took in the lead-up to the match. He passed an HIA for the first injury in the test and continued playing, but left the field after the second.<\/p>\n
After the match, former Kiwis and Warriors star Shaun Johnson was critical that Katoa was even allowed to play.<\/p>\n
“I don’t get how it can even get to that point,” he said on his Play on Sport Show podcast. “There’s going to be fallout over this.<\/p>\n
“There’s going to be some heads that will roll, because I do not know how Eli Katoa was actually even allowed to take the field.”<\/p>\n
Tonga coach Kristian Woolf defended team doctors, saying everything was “done by the book”.<\/p>\n
“We’ve got two very experienced doctors there,” he said. “They’ve done their usual HIA.<\/p>\n
“He’s passed all that and passed all that well. My job is not to question doctors.<\/p>\n
“They were both comfortable with that and comfortable with him coming back onto the field, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about there in terms of the process.”<\/p>\n