Jillaroos star undergoes 'scary' emergency surgery

Jillaroos star Meg Ward has undergone emergency surgery to repair a ruptured and slipped disc just hours after first seeing a doctor.

The 24-year-old Broncos centre revealed the scary chain of events from her hospital bed in Brisbane on Tuesday morning.

A casual Sunday night at home sparked alarm when Ward stood up off the couch and noticed some neck pain.

By Monday morning it had increased – and at 8am the seriousness of the situation was understood.

“I then went and saw the surgeon at 8am and he said, ‘What have you eaten? I need to get you into surgery,” Ward told the Broncos website.

“I was under the knife by 4pm so it all happened quickly.”

In an Instagram post, Ward said the ruptured and slipped disc was the “biggest one the surgeon had seen”.

“The rupture was putting immense pressure on my nerves and spinal cord,” Ward added.

Remarkably, she is already thinking about getting back on the park for the second NRLW season.

Ward will use Gorden Tallis and Mat Rogers as inspiration, two former league stars who underwent surgery for neck issues before continuing their careers.

“At this stage they are not seeing any issues with playing next year,” she said.

“A lot of players have had this done and have gone back to play.”