Dave Hughes has spoken candidly about a serious injury sustained during the AFL Legends Match, revealing it left him with five broken ribs, a punctured lung, and in his words, “near-death.”

Known affectionately as “Hughesy”, the 54-year-old was playing in the Prostate Cancer fundraiser match at Marvel Stadium five weeks ago when he says he was “targeted” by multiple former AFL players.

The incident ultimately resulted in an emergency hospital visit and several days in intensive care.

Speaking on The KIIS Network’s Will & Woody Show last night, Hughes reflected on the experience.

“I nearly died but I’m going to say it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. So, it was a real moment,” he said.

“On the night, I looked like I was at death’s door but some people thought I was bunging it on, and so I didn’t go to hospital on the night.”

It wasn’t until the following morning – after persistent groaning – that his wife, Lisa, took him to a Melbourne hospital at 5am. An X-ray confirmed the extent of his injuries.

“My first thought was not for my own safety. My first thought was, ‘Let’s get the media involved here and start doing interviews’,” he said, jokingly.

True to form, Hughes began conducting media interviews from his hospital bed.

“I did about seven radio interviews and then Channel Seven were on their way in,” he said.

“It was just going to be a great morning for me. I was chock-a-block full of morphine, having the best time of my life, and then the bosses of the hospital came down.”

He initially believed the hospital executives were there to thank him.
“The comedian thought, ‘They’re going to give me flowers for putting their hospital in the spotlight.’ Instead, it was an intervention.

“They said, ‘You’ve got to stop doing media interviews in ICU.’”

Hughes recounted his defiant response.

“I said, ‘You don’t know what heals me, do you? This heals me. You take that away and I might as well kill me now’,” he shouted.

Despite the severity of his injuries, Hughes concluded the story with his signature humour, “So breathing is an issue at the moment, but still, apart from that, life’s great.”

During his time in hospital, Hughes even named the player he believes was responsible for the impact that led to his injuries.

A heavily medicated and breathless Hughesy continued sharing details of his injuries during radio interviews from his hospital bed, appearing on Triple M’s Mick in the Morning and Fifi, Fev & Nick. 

The comedian revealed that he genuinely feared for his life after sustaining a brutal hit early in the match.

He attributed the initial injury – which led to his broken ribs – to former West Coast Eagles player Andrew Embley.

“The ribs were cracked in the first incident with Andrew Embley,” he said.

“Embley came in from the side. It was the first collision, and from that moment I was struggling.”

Hughes went on to name other players who he said added to his condition, including former Gold Coast and Carlton player Daniel Gorringe.

“[He] slammed me in the ruck,” Hughes said, before describing a final collision involving former Brisbane Lions player Mitch ‘Robbo’ Robinson.

“And Robbo, after I kicked the goal [hit me], I thought, ‘Am I going to die out here?’ I kicked a goal, celebrated for just a second, and then Robbo smashed me.

“The crowd wanted me to go back out there; I would have died.”

Images: Instagram