Sharks legend Paul Gallen has admitted news of ex-teammate Andrew Fifita's injury scare was "hard to take", while revealing the heroic role a doctor played in getting the NRL star to hospital on time as he struggled to breathe. Fifita underwent a successful surgery to repair a fractured larynx on Tuesday, after he was rushed to hospital on the advice of the doctors on hand at the Moreton Daily Stadium following the Sharks' clash against the Knights on Sunday afternoon. Upon arrival at hospital, Fifita was placed in an induced coma to assist with breathing, made more difficult due to the extensive swelling of the larynx that had taken place. According to Gallen, teammates noticed Fifita's voice gradually deteriorating throughout the second half of the match, as the 32-year-old continued to yell and pleaded to be put back on the field while sitting on the bench after coming off in the 46th minute. Incredibly, a club doctor had suspected Fifita had injured his larynx and told the Sharks star to go to hospital, only to be waved off by the player himself before his condition soon worsened. "He came back and spoke to Andrew and said, 'Mate, you need to go to hospital', and Andrew being Andrew said, 'Not a chance, what are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with me'," Gallen told 2GB's Wide World of Sports Radio.
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