TONGA international Eliesa Katoa has been ruled out of next season by his club, Melbourne Storm, after suffering a seizure.
Katoa was taken to hospital with concussion following a head injury in the 51st minute of Tonga’s Pacific Cup match against New Zealand in Auckland earlier this month.
The 25-year-old was found to have a bleed on the brain and underwent surgery.
The incident caused great controversy because Katoa is said to have suffered two other head knocks prior – one during the warm-up, which was not identified by Tonga’s medical staff, and another in the first-half, following which he passed a head-injury assessment and returned to the field.
Katoa was hospitalised for two weeks – first in Auckland, then back in Melbourne for further assessment – but has now returned home.
The back-rower won’t play any part for his NRL side in the upcoming season, however.
Storm CEO Justin Rodski said: “Eli’s health and wellbeing remain our number one priority.
“It is great to have him home safely and under the care of our club doctor and local specialists. He is improving each day and looking forward to continuing his rehabilitation from home.
“In consultation with our doctor and neuro specialists, Eli will not return to training this pre-season and won’t be available for the 2026 season.
“He has a long road ahead in his recovery and his focus will be on returning to full health before considering any form of return to training.
“Eli is a much-loved and respected member of our team and club. The Storm family will rally around him and support him through his recovery.”
Tonga head coach Kristian Woolf defended the actions of his staff, saying: “We have two very experienced doctors there, they (did) the usual HIA and he passed all that.
“My job is not to question doctors. They were both comfortable with him coming back onto the field.”
Katoa was making his seventh appearance for Tonga, having made his international debut in their 2023 series against England.
He has played 118 NRL games, 72 of them in three years with Melbourne including last season’s Grand Final defeat to Brisbane Broncos.