Tony Modra, the former Adelaide Crows AFL champion, is set to undergo more facial surgery after waking from a coma over the weekend, following a near-fatal truck accident near Victor Harbour, about 80 kilometres south of Adelaide, last Thursday evening.
Freak Accident and Immediate Aftermath
Modra, 57, was driving near his cattle property when a tree branch broke through the windshield of his truck, causing shocking facial injuries that threatened his life. He was rushed to Flinders Medical Centre in South Adelaide, where he spent days in the intensive care unit and underwent several surgeries.
Mark Ricciuto, Modra's former teammate and close friend, provided an update on Triple M Breakfast with Roo, Ditts and Loz on Monday. “It’s been a positive weekend, it’s definitely fair to say,” Ricciuto said. “He had a really long day on Friday, getting operations on his jaw, cheekbone and eye socket. I went to bed and they were still operating on him at that point, so you could imagine how long that was.”
Waking from Coma and Emotional Recovery
Ricciuto shared the uplifting news that Modra was woken from his coma on Saturday. “But Saturday I got a great message during the football from Erica (Modra’s wife) saying that they’ve woken him up, and that was awesome. But he was in a lot of pain as you can imagine after having all those operations the day before.”
Remarkably, Modra remembered the entire accident. “He remembered everything that happened, if you can believe that. So obviously no concussion, no brain injury which is a huge positive, but it’s also a bit of a negative when you can picture all the stuff that’s happened. So, great news he’s got no brain issues, a little bit tough emotionally to get through reliving what happened,” Ricciuto added.
Family Support and Further Surgery
Ricciuto has been in constant contact with Erica, who, along with other family members, has been by Modra's side since the accident. “Also the other great thing was he could deal with all that with Erica around him and his kids and his parents and his family, so that was awesome that they could all be there to look after him. Erica said that was the best medicine of everything that Tony could have,” Ricciuto said.
On Sunday, Modra was moved out of intensive care, but he will need to return for more surgery. “Yesterday (Sunday) he actually come out of intensive care which is great, but he’s got to go back in and have more surgery today. It’s been obviously a super tough experience for everyone. It’s a miracle not only that he’s alive, but that he’s at that point where he is right now,” Ricciuto said.
Ricciuto acknowledged the long road ahead: “We continue to keep our fingers crossed and continue to wish him all the best and that he keeps improving and he gets better, but it’s certainly going to be a long road back to normality, whatever that is. Might be a few steps forward and a couple steps back here and there, but he’s improving and we wish him all the best.”
Outpouring of Support Across the AFL Community
The universal love for Modra rippled across the country when news of the accident first surfaced. During Adelaide’s clash with Melbourne at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, fans held up the original ‘GOD-RA’ banner from the 1990s to show their support for the former Crows superstar.
Crows coach Matthew Nicks emphasised that some things are bigger than footy. “It’s something that we don’t hide from, that there are tough things going on in life and footy is not number one,” Nicks said. “However when we get to the oval on a game day, there’s a need as a professional athlete to actually put footy number one for 120 minutes or a little bit longer than that, because you’ve got to prepare yourself. So we had that conversation. We talked openly through a number of things that are going on in life, away from what we’re doing on a footy oval. But the moment we walk off, then our mind goes back to family and to things like Mods, and where Mods is at at the moment and how we can try and support.”
