Canberra outside back Albert Hopoate suffered severe burns to his right arm when an oil can behind a barbecue exploded – then he asked coach Ricky Stuart if he could still train the next day.
Hopoate has been ruled out of Sunday’s clash against Cronulla because of the accident.
This masthead obtained footage of the 23-year-old’s blistered and swollen right arm.
Albert’s father John said his son was at teammate Corey Harawira-Naera’s house on Monday night when the accident happened.
“I always told him he was a bad cook – he’s tried to cook his own arm,” John Hopoate said on Tuesday night.
“He takes after his mum [Brenda]. She’s the worst cook in the world.
Albert Hopoate has had a solid start to the year for Canberra.Credit: Getty Images
“In all seriousness, he was at Corey’s house when one of those spray oil cans at the back of a barbecue blew up. He suffered some pretty bad burns. It was frightening.
“He’s lucky it only burnt his arm and not his face.”
Stuart was also grateful 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 doc wants to make sure the burns properly recover. You don’t want to risk him getting any further infection. Albert was in today and wanted to train and do the session. Sometimes you need to pull players back and [protect] them from themselves.
“Albert’s a great bloke and a big part of our squad.”
Hopoate’s injury joins a long list of bizarre accidents that have sidelined NRL players over the years.
Robbie Kearns fell off a horse during a NSW Blues bonding session and broke his collarbone in 1999, which forced him out of the entire Origin series.
Balmain legend Tim Brasher fell while cleaning a ceiling fan and injured his knee, which ruled him out of the 2001 season.
David Kidwell snapped ligaments in his knee when trying to avoid stepping on his daughter at an Easter barbecue in 2007.
In 2011, Greg Eastwood damaged his ankle by treading on his son’s toy car, and in the same year Parramatta’s Matt Keating missed six weeks when his dog bit his finger.
Last month, Cameron Munster re-aggravated a groin injury when he slipped in the shower trying to grab a towel in a Fijian hotel, while Manly’s Tom Trbojevic pulled up lame after racing “Harry” down the Manly Corso on the eve of the 2021 season.
As for Hopoate and Canberra, James Schiller has been named on the wing on Sunday with centre Seb Kris returning from concussion while Jordan Rapana is preparing to play his 200th NRL game at PointsBet Stadium.
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