Tongan rugby league star Eli Katoa aims for return as he recovers from brain surgery

Eli Katoa has posted photos from his time in hospital after surgery for a brain bleed. Photo / Instagram

By RNZ

Tongan rugby league star Eli Katoa says his recovery from brain surgery is going well and he hopes to return to the sport.

The Melbourne Storm second-rower will miss the 2026 NRL season as he recuperates from the surgery for a brain bleed.

Katoa, 25, collided with a teammate before a Pacific Championships test against the Kiwis at Eden Park on November 2 and then suffered two more head knocks during the match. He was taken to hospital after seizure activity and had surgery overnight.

The former Warrior has posted on Instagram that he is now back at home “and I’m in a good place now”.

“My recovery is going well and hopefully I can keep ticking all of the boxes that I need!

“And to the Storm fans, in God’s timing, ‘I’ll be back soon’.”

Eli Katoa has posted this photo of partner Tuitofa Aloua helping him down hospital stairs. Photo / Instagram

Katoa posted a photo of partner Tuitofa Aloua helping him walk down hospital stairs and said: “To my girl, this woman has been amazing, strong and sticking by my side through it all.

“I appreciate you and I love you so much.”

He also thanked fans for their messages and prayers, and the Storm club and the Tongan rugby league community for their support.

Katoa had not had a head injury assessment for the knock he took before the match. He passed an HIA for the first injury in the test and continued playing, but left the field after the second.

After the match, former Kiwis and Warriors star Shaun Johnson was critical that Katoa was even allowed to play.

“I don’t get how it can even get to that point,” he said on his Play on Sport Show podcast. “There’s going to be fallout over this.

“There’s going to be some heads that will roll, because I do not know how Eli Katoa was actually even allowed to take the field.”

Tonga coach Kristian Woolf defended team doctors, saying everything was “done by the book”.

“We’ve got two very experienced doctors there,” he said. “They’ve done their usual HIA.

“He’s passed all that and passed all that well. My job is not to question doctors.

“They were both comfortable with that and comfortable with him coming back on to the field, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about there in terms of the process.”