GRAPHIC IMAGE: Raiders star Albert Hopoate reveals extent of his severely burned arm from BBQ explosion
- The Canberra star was at teammate’s house for dinner
- In a freak accident, an olive oil bottle exploded
- I hope to return for the Raiders next week
Canberra Raiders star Albert Hopoate has revealed the horrific extent of his burned arm, suffered in a bizarre BBQ explosion while dining with a teammate.
The former New South Wales Blues star suffered the burns before Canberra’s Round 4 match against Cronulla when a bottle of olive oil caught fire and exploded at his teammate Corey Harawira-Naera’s home.
In a dazzling display of bravado, the winger attempted to return to training the next day before being ruled out for several weeks to recover.
Hopoate spoke for the first time since the incident News Corp that he considered himself lucky despite the extensive burns on his arm.
“I’m lucky, it could have hit my face, my eyes, who knows?” he said.
‘The pain was quite bad. I went straight to the doctor and he fixed it.
‘I’m lucky, that’s for sure. Someone left some olive oil too close to the grill and the can exploded into flames.
“That photo you have is a few days after it happened.
Canberra Raiders star Albert Hopoate has shared the extent of burns to his arm from the freak accident involving a barbecue and olive oil bottle that caught fire
Hopoate hopes to make a miraculous recovery and return for the Raiders next week
The incident occurred while Hopoate was with teammate Corey Harawira-Naera
‘It’s not pretty. Fortunately it is not infected and I have no pain.
“I’m back training and can catch and pass the footy again.
“I’m doing well and I hope to play next week.”
His famous football player father John Hopoate had initially made light of the incident before admitting his son was very lucky to escape without more serious injuries.
“I always told him he was a bad cook; he tried to cook his own arm,” he said at the time.
‘He looks like his mother [Brenda]. She’s the worst cook in the world.
“Honestly, he was at Corey’s house when one of those oil spray cans exploded in the back of a grill. He suffered quite serious burns. It was scary.
“He’s lucky he only burned his arm and not his face.”
Raider coach Ricky Stuart was also thankful Hopoate’s injuries were not more serious.
“It’s such an unfortunate incident,” he said.
“Albert has been very consistent and solid for us with his performances at the start of the season. He won’t be out for long.
‘The doctor wants to ensure that the burns heal properly. You don’t want to risk him getting more infections. Albert was present today and wanted to train and do the session. Sometimes you have to withdraw players and [protect] them of themselves.
“Albert is a great guy and a big part of our team.”