At least hapless Levi kept his teeth

WHEN NRL officials went looking for Danny Levi’s teeth on the ground at GIO Stadium last Sunday their search would amount to nothing.

“My jaw had split so much that there was this massive gap between my teeth,” Levi said. “It looked like I had a heap of missing teeth because it was split so far. But I am lucky that I wasn’t missing any teeth. I managed to keep them all.”

Levi played just two minutes for Canberra against the Sharks before being forced from the field with a badly broken jaw, with the X-ray (below) showing the sickening impact of the tackle gone wrong.

He suffered the injury in Canberra’s first defensive set when he attempted to tackle Teig Wilton. Levi stayed on the field and made another tackle before realising how bad the damage was.

“At first I thought a bad whack to the jaw,” Levi said. “Then I felt my tongue and teeth weren’t in the right spot and there were a few bones split in my mouth.

“After the tackle they ran back to me. I couldn’t close my mouth so I was pretty sure I’d broken my jaw.”

Levi had surgery on Tuesday afternoon after breaking his jaw in two parts – either side of his mouth. He needed a plate and screws on one side of his face and screws in the other. The injury is expected to sideline him for about two months.

“I’m eating like a baby,” Levi said. “It’s a puree diet. It’s not fun but I have to do this for the next four weeks. I will be trying to get back on the field around the six-week mark. “I can’t really talk properly.” It was a cruel blow for Levi, who had won Canberra’s starting No.9 jersey after returning to the NRL following a oneyear stint in the Super League.

“It sucks,” Levi said. “It’s a little setback but I’ll be back.”