KEY POINTS:
Family members of former All Black great Zinzan Brooke are confident he will recover from head injuries he suffered after a night out in Spain last week.
The 42-year-old fractured his skull in the town of Elche, south of Valencia, where he was coaching the Barbarians. It is understood he fell over on a pavement and hit the back of his head.
His brother, Robin, said he had spoken with Zinzan's wife, Alison, who was confident his injuries were not life-threatening.
He had multiple fractures to the back of the left side of his head and "there were quite a few bone fragments all over the place".
Surgeons drilled a hole in his head to relieve pressure on the brain and did a CT scan, the operation taking close to three hours.
"The whole thing was a little bit more complex than they first thought," said Robin Brooke.
Alison Brooke rushed from their home in London to be at her husband's bedside.
She told TVNZ yesterday that he was coherent and had spoken with her.
"He's talking and communicating with me, which is fantastic. It's not what had been happening before the operation."
The footballer's mother, Hine, told the Herald she had been talking with Robin to get updates. All the other news she was getting was "what we have read in the Herald".
She said what had happened to her son was worrying, but declined to comment any further.
"She's like all mothers and was pretty distraught when she first heard about it all," said Robin Brooke. "Our mum still thinks we're all preschoolers."
Alison Brooke's mother, Marjorie Imm, told the Herald she was expecting further news from her daughter today but by all accounts her son-in-law was okay.
"I spoke to Alison this morning, she's doing much, much better and she's confident that he'll be fine."
Mrs Imm said she had been watching television for updates. She had no plans to go to England, "but our love goes to all the family over there".
Barbarians press officer Alan Evans said last night that an official investigation would be launched.
"Due to the seriousness of the situation, we need to be absolutely specific about what's happened ... One of the problems we've got is a lot of the players have returned home and then gone off to all parts of Europe and the Caribbean on holiday."
He said Zinzan Brooke was due to have another brain scan last night (NZ time).
"He was talking to Ali the day after the operation. The signs are good obviously."
Robin Brooke said he did not know what difference an investigation would make, "but it would still be nice to know the facts of what actually happened".
