Dave Hughes has been placed in intensive care after he was rushed to hospital in the early hours of this morning with a punctured lung following a charity AFL match that went wrong.
The comedian, known as ‘Hughesy‘, was playing in the AFL Legends Match for Prostate Cancer at Marvel Stadium overnight when he was ‘targeted’ by a number of former AFL players on the field.
Despite taking a massive hit and fearing he was badly injured, he continued to play and even attended the after party until the early hours of this morning before his wife rushed him to a Melbourne hospital at 5am.
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He was later diagnosed with five broken ribs and a potentially deadly punctured lung, and moved to the hospital’s intensive care ward while on air.
A breathless and heavily medicated Hughesy was being interviewed on Triple M’s Mick in the Morning and Fifi, Fev & Nick radio shows from hospital and admitted he thought he might die after copping a brutal hit from former West Coast Eagles player Andrew Embley early in the game.
He also claimed he was targeted by several other players, including former Brisbane Lions and Carlton player Mitch ‘Robbo’ Robinson.
Speaking to Mick Molloy, Hughesy said he joked at half-time that he might have a punctured lung after being hit by Embley.
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It was also revealed Hughesy remained at the after party until 2am before his condition deteriorated, causing wife Holly to rush him to hospital at 5am.
“We’re in Cabrini Hospital. I’ve got five broken ribs and a punctured lung,” Hughesy told Molly and co-host Nick Riewoldt.
“At half-time, I was coming off the ground and I was like, ‘I feel like I have a punctured lung’, and I was joking, but no, I do.”
Later in the show, Hughesy, who at times struggled to talk, revealed live on air he was being moved to the hospital’s intensive care unit.
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“There’s not a lot of breath in me guys, so I can’t talk too much.”
Hughesy also described being targeted on the field by a succession of players and claimed All-Stars coach Shane Crawford jokingly circled his name on the board.
He blamed a hit from Embley early in the match for breaking his ribs.
“The ribs were cracked in the first incident with Andrew Embley,” he said.
“Embley came in from the side. It was the first collision, and from that moment I was struggling.”
He also said former Gold Coast and Carlton player Daniel Gorringe “slammed me in the ruck” before Mitch ‘Robbo’ Robinson targeted him.
“And Robbo, after I kicked the goal [hit me], I thought, ‘Am I going to die out here?’
“I kicked a goal, celebrated for just a second, and then Robbo smashed me.
“The crowd wanted me to go back out there; I would have died.”
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