The Worcester lock Michael Fatialofa is able to walk unaided as he continues his recovery from a serious spinal cord injury that required surgery.
The 27-year-old suffered a neck injury in Worcester’s 62-5 Premiership loss at Saracens on 4 January. Fatialofa was hurt just one minute after coming off the Warriors bench, and was taken to St Mary’s hospital in west London.
Fatialofa was later diagnosed with a spinal contusion, a serious condition which causes compression on the spine. The New Zealand-born player had surgery to relieve the pressure on his spinal cord caused by bruising and swelling.
After four weeks at St Mary’s, three of which were in intensive care, Fatialofa was moved to Stoke Mandeville’s world-renowned spinal injury unit. His wife, Tatiana, has posted a video on her Instagram story of him walking during his rehabilitation.
She wrote a caption on the video reading: “Not blowing smoke when I say Jesus is the answer. You are witnessing a miracle that even medical professionals can’t explain. They are so shook by his progress given his critical level of injury.
“He was literally paralysed from the neck down just 10 weeks ago … but my amazing husband is proof that God is never limited to human wisdom. So so so thankful.”
A JustGiving page set up by the Rugby Players’ Association to provide financial support to the former Hurricanes player and his family has raised more than £37,000.