Footy star rushed to hospital after brutal blow as brave act leaves commentators stunned

Melbourne star Christian Petracca was rushed to hospital after succumbing to a nasty rib injury during the King’s Birthday clash with Collingwood.

Petracca copped a knee to the ribs from Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore in a marking contest just before quarter-time of Monday’s match.

The explosive midfielder was prone on the MCG turf for several minutes, receiving medical assistance as players made their way to the quarter-time huddles.

‘He was in pain immediately, went to ground. Eventually got up and tried to make his way to the quarter-time huddle, but was in so much discomfort, had to break away from the quarter-time huddle and head down inside the rooms,’ Channel 7 commentator Cameron Ling said from the boundary.

‘A lot of pain there. You can see. Not nice at all. Unfortunately, you have to suspect something like broken ribs when you see that type of vision.’

He copped a blow to the ribs at the end of the first term but remarkably played on

Petracca eventually got to his feet but appeared in agony as he clutched the left side of his ribs and slowly made his way off the ground and straight into the Demons’ rooms.

He had been one of Melbourne’s better players to that point, with eight disposals.

Petracca remarkably returned for the second quarter and attempted to battle through, but struggled to hit top speed and looked unwilling to kick the ball.

‘This is extraordinary, he barely crawled off the ground at quarter-time,’ Tim Watson said.

‘He did a couple of run-throughs and had the shake of the head. I could only take that as ‘no, there’s no pain’. I don’t know, that would have to be so sore,’ Ling added.

He added another five disposals, including four handballs, for the quarter but never looked himself.

‘As soon as he kicked that he bent over in a lot of pain. He’s being so brave right now, but he’s not comfortable out there at all. I don’t know how much longer he can last,’ Ling said.

Watson added: ‘Watching Petracca behind the play then. He is moving ever so slowly. He’s hunched over most of the time. He’s in a lot of pain.’

He was eventually subbed off and rushed to hospital for scans

Petracca was substituted off the ground for Jack Billings just before the start of the third quarter.

The Demons will now nervously await confirmation of the seriousness of Petracca’s injury after he was taken to hospital for further assessment. 

He does, however, have extra time to recover with the Demons having a bye this weekend. 

Melbourne sorely missed Petracca as Collingwood secured a convincing 38-point victory.