“My recovery is going well and hopefully I can keep ticking all of the boxes that I need!
“And to the Storm fans, in God’s timing, ‘I’ll be back soon’.”
Eli Katoa has posted this photo of partner Tuitofa Aloua helping him down hospital stairs. Photo / Instagram
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.
“I appreciate you and I love you so much.”
He also thanked fans for their messages and prayers, and the Storm club and the Tongan rugby league community for their support.
Katoa had not had a head injury assessment for the knock he took before the match. He passed an HIA for the first injury in the test and continued playing, but left the field after the second.
After the match, former Kiwis and Warriors star Shaun Johnson was critical that Katoa was even allowed to play.
“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.
“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.”
Tonga coach Kristian Woolf defended team doctors, saying everything was “done by the book”.
“We’ve got two very experienced doctors there,” he said. “They’ve done their usual HIA.
“He’s passed all that and passed all that well. My job is not to question doctors.
“They were both comfortable with that and comfortable with him coming back on to the field, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about there in terms of the process.”