Rabbitohs great Nathan Merritt is now “able to get out of bed” and is talking to family and friends, the club has confirmed.
Merritt woke from a coma 10 days ago after being put on life support following an adverse reaction to prescribed pain medication on October 6.
The 40-year-old collapsed while staying with a family member and was initially in a critical condition, but is now stable at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
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Souths released a statement on social media on Thursday, revealing that Merritt’s condition had been “progressing every day”.
“Some great news regarding Nathan Merritt. Nath is now able to get out of bed, sit up and speak to people! He is recovering well and progressing every day, but has a long way to go to a full recovery. Merro asked us to thank all of the Rabbitohs fans for their support and prayers. It means so much to him,” the statement read.
Merritt made 237 NRL appearances in stints at the Sharks and Rabbitohs, scoring a remarkable 146 tries in his 13-year career.
Merritt, who played at wing and fullback in his lengthy NRL career, was the league’s leading try-scorer for three seasons and was the 9th player in the history of the sport to score 150 total tries.
He also earned several representative honours in his glittering career.
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Merritt made two appearances for the PM’s XIII and scored two tries as well as three games for the Indigenous All-Stars with three tries to boot.
He made his only appearance for New South Wales in Game Two of the 2013 State of Origin series as a result of Blake Ferguson’s suspension.
Merritt retired from rugby league in 2014, the season in which South Sydney won its first premiership in 43 years.
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