London (AFP)
New Zealand second row Michael Fatialofa is walking without crutches, less than three months after his serious neck injury during a match, his wife said on Saturday, describing the speed of his recovery as a "miracle".
"You are witnessing a miracle that even medical professionals cannot explain. (...) They are stunned by his progress given the seriousness of his injury," said Tatiana, the player's wife Worcester Warriors, in a video posted on Instagram.
"He was literally paralyzed below the neck just 10 weeks ago," she writes.
Fatialofa, 27, suffered a spinal cord injury, a serious and life-threatening injury, after a shock received on January 7 during an English league game against the Saracens which had resulted in an ambulance evacuation.
After being released from intensive care more than two weeks after his injury, he has since been treated at a spinal column hospital in north-west London.
The Warriors game against the Harlequins, scheduled for April 11, was supposed to raise funds for the New Zealander, but it could not take place after the suspension of the Premiership because of the coronavirus pandemic.
© 2020 AFP