AFL great Luke Hodge sports nasty face injury on TV

Hawthorn legend Luke Hodge has had to explain how he got his head split open after looking worse for wear on his TV footy show.

A week after being inducted into the AFL’s Hall of Fame, Luke Hodge has had to explain on national TV why he was sporting a seriously nasty gash on his face.

The Hawthorn legend was inducted into the Hall of Fame last week in recognition of his four premierships and two Norm Smith Medals won during his time at the Hawks.

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But on Tuesday night, viewers of Channel 7’s Agenda Setters were concerned by the sight of a large scar on Hodge’s face, which had been patched by stitches.

Fronting up to discuss the big issues in footy, Hodge’s co-hosts couldn’t resist poking fun of the 40-year-old as he explained his nasty looking noggin.

Kane Cornes said: “A man with a fresh gash on his forehead, what has happened Luke?”

Luke Hodge sported a nasty scar on TV. Photo: Channel 7.

Watch Luke Hodge talk about the gash in the video above

Hodge claimed he sustained the gash playing in a local basketball game.

He said: “It’s old man basketball, Kane. I went up for a layup... it’s a little bit of a gash, got a nice little elbow right in the forehead and spent the night in emergency.

Dale Thomas chimed: “He did a hamstring in similar fashion and now this.”

Hodge quipped: “It’s just passion. The first thing (my wife said) was ‘do you reckon you should give up on sport?’”

Cornes added: “I think we need to hold an intervention after the show tonight. Anyway, you look good.”

It’s been a big week for Hodge, who was inducted into the Australian football Hall of Fame alongside the likes of Nick Riewoldt, Garry Lyon, Daisy Pearce and Erin Phillips.

Luke Hodge with the 2013 and 2014 premiership cups. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Hodge was inducted into the Australian football Hall of Fame. (Photo by James Wiltshire/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Hodge captained Hawthorn to the 2008 premiership and was a key member of the club’s three-peat of premierships in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

“A lot of things we did were just simple, good, honest, team-first stuff. And I think that’s why a lot of our players were able to stand up in big occasions,” he said.

“I probably got away with things early with my fitness and professionalism, but because I understood the game it probably hid a few of the flaws I had.

“But after 2009 we never got ahead of ourselves. We celebrated the premierships for two or three weeks but then came ‘crossroads day’ as we called it. The message went out to the entire group, no matter where in the world they might be, to start acting like professional athletes again.”

AFL Hall of Fame Inductee Luke Hodge

Hawthorn (2002-17): 305 games, 193 goals

Brisbane Lions (2018-19): 41 games, 1 goal

Australia: 4 games

Premierships: 2008, 2013 (capt), 2014 (capt), 2015 (capt)

Best and fairest: 2005, 2010

All-Australian: 2005, 2008, 2010

Norm Smith Medal: 2008, 2014

Captain: 2011-16

Originally published as AFL great Luke Hodge sports nasty face injury on TV