- Demons star needed blood transfusions after hit
- He was left with broken ribs and serious internal injuries.
- He has made his first public appearance since the worst moment of his career.
AFL star Christian Petracca appeared with fiancée Bella Beischer in his first public appearance since his season ended with a nasty injury that saw him rushed to hospital for surgery.
The Demons gun was left with four broken ribs, a punctured lung and a lacerated spleen when Collingwood’s Darcy Moore accidentally kneed him on June 10, and when he left hospital he was still in so much pain that Beischer had to help him with everyday tasks basic.
Petracca and Beischer were seen walking in a Melbourne park on Tuesday, just hours before he gave an emotional television interview in which he nearly broke down in tears as he spoke about the toll his injury has taken on his loved ones and revealed new details about his health battle.
“The first few weeks were pretty traumatic to be honest,” he told Fox Sports’ AFL 360 show.
‘(I was in) the ICU, in a room and then in and out of the hospital.
‘I was rushed to hospital about a week ago early in the morning for some checks. I woke up with some complaints and went straight to the hospital.
‘It’s been quite stressful, it’s something I’ve never experienced.
‘In my first year I had my ACL done (ACL of the knee) and I was a bit young, naive and brash and didn’t understand the seriousness of the injury. Now, at 28 years old, it’s very different.”
Petracca and his fiancée Bella Beischer are seen out and about in Melbourne as the Demons star was seen in public for the first time since suffering the worst moment of his football career.
The Demons star has had to rely on his teammate to help him carry out basic daily tasks after suffering four broken ribs and serious internal injuries against Collingwood on June 10.
Petracca said the hardest part of the injury was the impact on his fiancee
Petracca then fought back tears as she revealed the impact on Beischer and her family after she had to self-isolate for the first 10 days she spent at home to protect against infection.
“I get pretty emotional thinking about it…probably more how it’s impacted my fiancée…that’s probably been the hardest thing, to be honest,” he said.
‘It has been a challenge for both of us, but we are overcoming it.
“The support I have received from everyone has been extraordinary: my fiancée, my parents, my family, his parents, my friends, the entire football world… it has been incredible.”
The 28-year-old had to receive a blood transfusion at 2am after suffering internal bleeding as a result of being accidentally hit by Pies star Darcy Moore (pictured).
She was close to tears as she revealed the toll her health battle has taken on her loved ones during a TV interview on Tuesday night (pictured).
“But it’s still very raw for me.”
Shortly after the injury, Petracca’s family were reported to be angry with the Melbourne Demons club after they allowed him to return to the field shortly after the hit.
The club strongly denied it, but the star confirmed his loved ones were unhappy with the situation and said there was “a degree of frustration”.
“What you have to understand is that my parents and my fiancee were the only people who could see me in the ICU,” he explained.
“There’s probably a little bit of frustration and emotion because they’re the only ones who knew the severity of the injury… and they saw me (and) that I needed blood transfusions at 2 in the morning.”