‘Really get into him’: The Allies roughed up Dave Hughes in the Legends game. Now he’s in hospital with punctured lung

Comedian Dave Hughes was rushed to hospital with multiple cracked ribs and a punctured lung after he was crunched during Thursday night’s Legends football match at Marvel Stadium.

Hughes, 54, was cleared of a lacerated spleen, after a series of body-jarring clashes during the supposedly light-hearted charity game, which raised funds for prostate cancer research.

Allies coach Shane Crawford jokingly urged his players to physically target Hughes in a televised pre-match address. The comedian came off second best in a contest with West Coast premiership player Andrew Embley, was pushed to the ground by Dan Gorringe at a centre bounce, then kicked a goal and was toppled by Mitch Robinson as he celebrated.

It was unclear which bump did the damage. Hughes continued to play out the game and attended the post-match function. It wasn’t until early Friday morning that his wife, Holly, realised something was wrong.

She drove Hughes to hospital, where he was immediately treated. He remains in a “reasonably serious” condition.

“The verdict is, three cracked ribs and a slightly punctured lung which he thinks happened in the first hit. Then he has been cleaned up a couple of times after that,” Holly Hughes said.

Dave Hughes later said he had five cracked ribs.

Crawford said he asked Hughes post match whether he was OK, and had reached out to him on Friday.

“I sent him a message saying, for starters, not many get through a game with broken ribs, so you are in very rare company. Obviously, I hope he is OK,” Crawford said.

“We definitely don’t want anyone getting injured.”

Embley told Triple M in Perth on Friday that he was sorry any damage he may have inflicted.

“I just want to say that I am so sorry for my little thump on you last night that has, obviously, caused so much damage, you look so sore right now ... take care and I’ll send some flowers your way shortly,” Embley said.

Gorringe also apologised to Hughes via an Instagram post from his account @dandoesfooty.

“Dave, first of all I hope you’re resting up. I really do,” Gorringe said.

“If I contributed to the multiple broken ribs and a punctured lung in our little head-to-head at the centre bounce last night where I hip and shouldered you, then threw the ball at you and then gave you the finger, then my hand’s up, I apologise, and I hope you’re having a speedy recovery. That’s on me.”

Former Carlton and Brisbane star Brendan Fevola believes he was near Hughes when he was injured.

“I got real worried because … I went to pick him up off the ground and he couldn’t breathe. [Hughes said]: ‘I am in real pain. Don’t pick me up, let me get up myself’,” Fevola told his breakfast radio show on Fox.

“I reckon that’s when it happened, he literally could not get up off the ground. [Hughes said]: ‘Don’t touch me, don’t touch me’. He was laying there, a few people thought he was putting it on, but I thought he was in trouble.”

Holly Hughes said her husband had been in pain in bed at home.

“It was not a good sound and I was like: ‘Babe, I think we need to call an ambulance’,” Hughes said.

“And he was like: ‘Nah, I am fine, I am just a bit sore’.”

While his ribs and lung will take time to heal, Hughes has escaped a spleen injury.

“In the end, the spleen looks OK. He has had an x-ray, he has had a CT scan,” Holly Hughes said.

All-Stars coach Shane Crawford had joked to his players in his pre-match speech that they needed to rough up the typically cheery Hughes.

“There is one player from the Vics that I have really earmarked, and it’s Dave Hughes,” Crawford said, prompting his players to burst out with laughter.

“I don’t care about the other players. They are all good players. They are old, they are slow. I want him [Hughes] to never put up his hand again [to play], so I want everyone to tackle him at some stage. And while he is down there, to really get into him.”

On Friday, Crawford said his players had not taken his tongue-in-cheek pre-match address literally.

“I am sure people can argue in many different ways, but I don’t think so. But even with the bumps and tackles, they are not real like what they used to be. They could have a lot more power and force if they really wanted to get out there and knock someone to the ground,” Crawford said.

“He (Hughes) definitely wouldn’t be happy, but you always have to look at the positive; it was very entertaining to see him out there having a go.”

Holly Hughes pointed out her husband’s age and slender frame compared to the former athletes he was up against.

“It’s all fun and games to target Hughsey, but I think he was the oldest person out there. He is very lean at the moment,” she said.

A spokeswoman for the event said all “appropriately qualified medical staff and procedures were in place” as if the match had been an AFL game.

After a six-year hiatus, the Legends Match was revived with a wave of fresh stars representing Victoria and the All Stars, a contest that carries the legacy of E.J. Whitten to help raise awareness and vital funds for prostate cancer research.

Crawford tried to spin a positive from Hughes’ injuries.

“It’s a great script for next year, ‘Hughesy makes a comeback’. It would be one of the great comebacks in the history of football. Maybe he can give a big whack to Daniel Gorringe at some stage or Andrew Embley, and get revenge. That’s the plot that can drag out,” he said.

Melbourne’s Cabrini Hospital, where Hughes has been treated, was contacted for comment.

Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.