John Bateman reveals how he almost lost a leg in horrific off-field incident

North Queensland Cowboys and England forward John Bateman has revealed he nearly lost his left leg following a freak spider bite. 

The gruesome incident occurred during a routine training session with the Cowboys while in Perth for a match, and left Bateman in hospital for four days.

Luckily, he has since made a full recovery and returned to action just two weeks later.

‘We’re just looking to save your leg’

Bateman returned to Australia in early January, following a brief loan spell with Warrington Wolves at the end of the 2024 season, but he quickly found himself receiving a nasty welcome from some of the local wildlife.

“I think it [the spider] was on the field, and it bit me on my leg,” the back-rower told NRL.com. “I wasn’t too sure what it was. I’ve never had to worry about that before.

“I had a rough sleep on Wednesday night, and I literally got rushed to hospital on Thursday morning.

“It was pretty bad. I was just hot and cold, and my leg from above my knee to beneath my ankle went all red, so I was pretty worried.

“But when I got into the hospital, I just said to the doctor, ‘just make sure I’m ready for the game on Saturday’.

“Then on the Friday morning he came back in, because they had taken bloods, and he said, ‘mate, there is no chance of you playing, we’re just looking to save your leg’.”

The incident would have undoubtedly left the forward shaken, and his family were also rocked by the severity of it.

“They (Bateman’s family) were just as shocked as I was, but I was in the best place and it’s a credit to Perth Hospital,” he said.

“I got away in one piece, but it was a real ‘welcome to Australia’, put it that way.”

The back-rower is back for his third spell in the NRL, after previous stints with the Canberra Raiders and Wests Tigers, who he left after a dramatic transfer saga last season.

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