Comatose Brumbies lock faces more surgery

Brumbies lock Shawn Mackay will undergo more spinal surgery and will not be brought out of a medically-induced coma for at least another 24 hours, his Super 14 team said this morning (NZ time).

The 26-year-old Mackay was hit by a motor vehicle in Durban in the early hours of Sunday (local time) and was placed in a coma in St Augustine's Hospital.

"Shawn was originally going to be brought out of the coma tonight or tomorrow morning but he will remain sedated and in a coma because he has to undergo further surgery on his spine on Wednesday," Brumbies media and communications manager Nick Smith said from Bloemfontein.

MacKay sustained a cervical spinal fracture and dislocation, compound fractures to his left tibia and fibula, and multiple fractures and lacerations when he was hit by an armoured security response vehicle as he crossed a road after leaving a nightclub with team mates.

The Brumbies were in Durban to play the Natal Sharks on Sunday (NZ time), with Mackay featuring in the match as a replacement. The Brumbies lost 35-14.

Acting Brumbies skipper George Smith told the Sydney Morning Herald: "Shawn is a very popular member of the squad and we are all in shock at seeing him go through such a horrific ordeal. We understand that Shawn's situation is a very serious one and that any progress from now is likely to be a slow process and take time."

The Witness, a KwaZulu-Natal newspaper, reported the Sharks' team doctor, Craig Springate, as saying it was too early to know the outcome of the injuries.

"He has suffered multiple injuries and fractures which can be classified as serious," Springate told the newspaper.

"There is some concern about paralysis but we will only know when he recovers from the anaesthetic. The spinal cord is intact but there is some swelling."

Mackay underwent emergency surgery early Sunday and was placed on a ventilator for 48 hours.

"Shawn has received first-class medical treatment from the time of the accident and will receive on-going treatment," team doctor Warren McDonald said in a Brumbies statement.

The Brumbies will play the Central Cheetahs in Bloemfontein this weekend.

-Reuters