In the wake of the bone jarring, late hit that has seen him remained sidelined since Round 9, Drew Hutchison has opened up about his the internal damage he suffered in the Roosters loss to the Eels.
As Hutchison dived toward the try-line during the May 7 clash, his opposite number, Parramatta's Dylan Brown, drove his knees into the former Dragon's ribcage.
Although the four-pointer was eventually disallowed, neither party escaped without punishment.
In Brown's case, he was sentenced to a three week suspension, however, for Hutchison, the damage was much worse.
Speaking with the The Sydney Morning Herald, the 26-year-old half explained that the highly publicized incident that played out in the Bankwest Stadium in-goal area left him unable to breathe.
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“During the game I fractured three ribs and punctured my lung,” Hutchison said.
”It happened quite quickly. The shortage of breath, that's what got me the most.
“I was in discomfort when it first happened, as you can see from the look on my face. I was just struggling. I could hardly talk. It's hard to explain; it's like getting winded and it never gets better, you feel yourself getting worse.
“I couldn't get comfortable at all, it was quite awkward.
“The shortage of breath, that's what got me the most.
“It definitely had that feeling of being winded and then it got progressively worse. I couldn't really talk; getting oxygen was really tough. I knew something was wrong.”
Straight after the sickening hit, the Wollongong-born product received oxygen treatment before being rushed to Westmead hospital for a stay that lasted nigh-on a week.
Scarily for Hutchison and his family, the Rooster's lungs collapsed again whilst under medical supervision.
“The second time when it collapsed, I had to have a procedure to make sure it would stay up,” he said.
“Ever since then it's been good, I've got no complaints with it.”
Despite punters and pundits labelling Brown's effort anything from 'weak' to a 'dog shot', Hutchison divulged that he held no grudge towards the 20-year-old.
“[Brown] sent me a message,” he said.
“You could tell he was very sorry and remorseful. I don't think he went out there to purposely injure me or anything like that.
“I think he just had one of those moments; I think everyone has a moment, a brain explosion.
“He has served his punishment, he's done his time. I'm sure he's had his time to think about it.
“It's all good, there's no issue there. If you think you're going to play this game and never get injured, you're a bit naive. It's definitely all sweet.”
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Even though Hutchison's ailments are close to fully healed, he still remains out of contract with with the eastern suburbs club, however, Hutchison is expected to return for the Chooks in the coming weeks.