NRL Pair Recovering In Hospital After Apparent Misuse Of Prescribed Medication
South Sydney Rabbitohs players Dylan Walker and Aaron Gray are in good condition in hospital and are now communicating with their families, the club said in a statement this morning.
The pair was taken to hospital by ambulance in a serious condition after being found at around 3:45am this morning, allegedly suffering from drug-related complications.
Rabbitohs chief executive John Lee said the players were now off life-support equipment.
Both players underwent post-season surgery last week after the Rabbitohs were eliminated by Cronulla in the first week of the finals.
“But let’s worry about Aaron and Dylan at the moment and then we need to get on with those issues”.
Paramedics treated the young men in the backyard of Gray’s family home at Rosebery before being taken to hospital where the pair were placed in induced comas on Tuesday night.
“If there hadn’t been two other people at the unit we could have been talking about a tragedy here tonight”, Lee said on NRL 360 on Fox Sports.
Dragons star Benji Marshall also suggested the problem was widespread and called the double overdose a “wake up call” for the code.
Lee said there was no evidence that any illicit drugs were involved and he did not believe alcohol was a factor.
What we know is that Dylan Walker came round to (Gray’s) place where they watched some movies but also they had taken more than the regulated amount of prescribed medication.
MATTHEW JOHNS: I’ve had a number of conversations with a few NRL coaches about the growing problem of prescription drugs.
‘The thing we learned personally is someone who should have been here one day was gone the next by the simple use of drugs.
RON MURATORE: This thing came up about three or four years ago.
So what I did for about a season and a half was I would get the information that ASADA would collect from the players when they tested them, and, sure, players were taking prescription medication, but overall the level was, I reckon was less than the general population.
“It’s when you cross the line”, he said.
“After a while the doctor said “mate, you don’t need them anymore”, but I was still chasing that feeling Panadeine Forte was giving me”. They were sedated – heavily sedated – for some time.
“We hope they are going to make a full recovery”. The club has said the pair had been prescribed painkillers after end-of-season surgery and had appeared to take too many.