The teenage son of a former footy player was rushed to hospital for emergency spinal surgery after a freak accident during a schoolboy rugby match.
Conor Tweedy, 16, suffered a serious neck and spinal cord injury when a scrum collapsed during a Brisbane high school match on Saturday afternoon.
Conor is the son of former player Sean Tweedy, who played for Queensland in 1990.
A doctor on the sidelines immediately identified it as a serious spinal injury, and kept Conor stable until an ambulance arrived.
16-year-old Conor Tweedy suffered a freak spinal injury when a scrum collapsed during a schoolboy rugby match (stock image)
Conor is a Year 11 student at St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace (pictured) and was representing them in a match against Brisbane Boys’ College when the injury happened
He has been diagnosed with an incomplete spinal chord injury at the C4 and C5 vertebrae near the base of the neck.
It will be weeks before his range of movement will be known.
The ambulance escorted him to Princess Alexandra Hospital, where he underwent surgery within hours.
Conor is a Year 11 student at St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace, and was representing them when the injury occurred.
In a post on the school’s Twitter, Terrace principal Michael Carroll said Conor underwent further surgery on Sunday.
‘Following this surgery, he will return to ICU where he will remain sedated,’ the post said.
‘The next 48 hours are very important for Conor. I ask that you continue to keep Conor and the Tweedy family in your thoughts and prayers.’
His family has remained by his side throughout the injury, particularly his father.
‘Conor could run out of hospital, walk out or be pushed out … it’s all in the balance,’ Sean told The Courier Mail.
Sean played for the Queensland Reds in 1990 and is a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland.
He is also an expert in physical activity and disability.
Former Queensland player Sean Tweedy (pictured) is Conor’s father and an expert in the field of physical activity and disability