Kiwis centre Steve Matai has been cleared of a serious neck injury and is likely to be available for Saturday's World Cup rugby league semifinal despite being stretchered off last night.
Kiwis medical staff feared a potential spinal fracture after Matai's head collided with teammate Greg Eastwood in a tackle during the team's 36-24 win over England in their final pool match in Newcastle.
He'd reported a searing pain down his right arm and was taken to hospital where he underwent x-rays and CT scans, which both cleared him of serious injury.
Matai was discharged this afternoon and rushed to Newcastle Airport to join his team-mates on their flight to Brisbane, where he will undergo an MRI scan to check for any disc damage.
"They were satisfied there was no instability and no fracture, and he was discharged on the condition we get an MRI scan in Brisbane," Kiwis doctor Simon Mayhew told NZPA.
"He's still pretty sore and the MRI scan will have to be normal and he'll have to be symptom-free to play (next Saturday), but he's a happy boy, very pleased with the news." It was NRL grand final-winner Matai's first game back from a one-match ban for a high tackle on Kangaroo Paul Gallen in their tournament opener.
The crowd of 15,145 at EnergyAustralia Stadium were hushed as play was held up for several minutes and Matai was placed in a neck brace and strapped to a stretcher.
Mayhew said Matai, who has defied a painful shoulder injury for most of the year, wanted to play on but the searing pain in the arm and localised pain in his neck sounded the alarm bells.
"Steve was gutted, he thought he was letting his mates down. I said `no you're not'.
"He resisted but then he understood why we were doing it. His neck was a bit sore and he had a funny arm. We recognised it straight away, this is potentially a nasty, career-ending situation.
"Hopefully I overcalled it and he's fine and has a bit of a sore neck for a couple of days and he's ready to play.
"It's foolish to start moving people in that situation, then you're left with a quadriplegic." Mayhew said the team would travel to Brisbane without any other serious injuries.
Hooker Nathan Fien suffered a broken nose which bled heavily, but he was expected to be available for the semifinal.
