Watch: Michael Fatialofa continues inspiring recovery from paralysis

Injured rugby star Michael Fatialofa has reached another impressive milestone in his recovery from being paralysed in the English Premiership at the start of this year.

Fatialofa is in the midst of a miraculous recovery from a severe spinal injury which left him paralysed from the neck down after suffering a C4 vertebrae fracture and spinal contusion playing for Worcester Warriors against Saracens on January 4.

Just 10 weeks later the former Auckland and Hurricanes lock was seen walking in Royal Bucks, a private hospital which has a renowned spinal unit.

Ross Karl is joined by Bryn Hall and Brad Weber in this installment of our weekly show discussing all things New Zealand rugby.

Video Player is loading.

Play Video

PlaySkip BackwardSkip Forward

Unmute

Current Time 0:00

/

Duration 0:00

Loaded: 0%

Stream Type LIVE

Seek to live, currently behind liveLIVE

Remaining Time -0:00

 

1x

Playback Rate

Chapters

• Chapters

Descriptions

• descriptions off, selected

Captions

• captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
• captions off, selected

Audio Track

Fullscreen

This is a modal window.

The Video Cloud video was not found.

Error Code: VIDEO_CLOUD_ERR_VIDEO_NOT_FOUND

Session ID: 2025-06-07:f70754c0dcb2d489319c1a34 Player Element ID: brightcove-embedded-video

OK

Close Modal Dialog

Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

Text

ColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-Transparent

Text Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparent

Caption Area Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque

Font Size

50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%

Text Edge Style

NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop shadow

Font Family

Proportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall Caps

ResetDone

Close Modal Dialog

End of dialog window.

Close Modal Dialog

This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

Ross Karl is joined by Bryn Hall and Brad Weber in this installment of our weekly show discussing all things New Zealand rugby.

After being discharged from hospital and returning home on June 7, Fatialofa has continued to make major strides in his physical rehab. The latest video update from his wife Tatiana shows just how far he has come, the 27-year-old now seen lifting weights in his back yard.

This step was seen as a particularly positive one for the couple after specialists were concerned about the future function of Michael’s arms.

https://twitter.com/tatianafats/status/1284162739150168070?d%3D12349023

Meanwhile, Worcester Warriors have vowed to “continue to go over and above what is expected” in their support of Fatialofa, who is facing medical bills of £100,000 ($NZ190,000).

Warriors are planning to stage a fund raising day for Fatialofa when Premiership matches resume to help boost a fund for the player, which currently stands at £41,000 (NZ$79,000).