- The Canberra star was at a teammate’s house for dinner
- A strange accident caused a bottle of olive oil to explode
- Hoping to return to the Raiders next week.
Canberra Raiders star Albert Hopoate has revealed the horrific extent of the burn he suffered on his arm in a freak barbecue explosion while dining with a teammate.
The former New South Wales Blues star suffered burns before Canberra’s round four match against Cronulla when an olive oil bottle caught fire and exploded at teammate Corey Harawira-Naera’s home.
In an astonishing display of bravery, the outside back attempted to return to training the following day before being ruled out for several weeks to recover.
Speaking for the first time since the incident, Hopoate said news corporation who considered himself lucky despite the extensive burns on his arm.
“I’m lucky, I might have gotten my face, my eyes, who knows?” he said.
‘The pain was quite intense. I went straight to the doctor and he cured it.
‘I’m very lucky, that’s for sure. Someone left some olive oil too close to the barbecue and the can exploded into flames.
‘That photo you have was a couple of days after it happened.
Canberra Raiders star Albert Hopoate has shared the extent of the burns on his arm from the freak accident involving a barbecue and an olive oil bottle that caught fire.
Hopoate hopes to make a miraculous recovery and return to the Raiders next week.
The incident occurred while Hopoate was at his partner Corey Harawira-Naera’s house.
‘Its not cute. Luckily it didn’t get infected and I don’t have any pain.
‘I’ve trained again and I can catch and pass a ball again.
“I’m fine and I hope to play next week.”
His father, the famous footballer, John Hopoate, initially played down the incident before admitting that his son was very lucky to escape without more serious injuries.
“I always told him he was a bad cook; he had tried to cook his own arm,” he said at the time.
‘He looks like his mother [Brenda]. She is the worst cook in the world.
‘In all seriousness, he was at Corey’s house when one of those spray oil cans on the back of a barbecue exploded. He suffered some pretty bad burns. It was terrifying.
“He’s lucky it only burned his arm and not his face.”
Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was also grateful Hopoate’s injuries were not more serious.
“It’s such an unfortunate incident,” he said.
‘Albert has been very consistent and solid for us with his performances at the start of the season. He won’t be away for long.
‘The doctor wants to make sure the burns heal properly. You don’t want to risk him getting more infections. Albert was there today and wanted to train and do the session. Sometimes it is necessary to push players back and [protect] them of themselves.
“Albert is a great guy and a great part of our team.”