Saab suffers heartbreaking head knock in RLWC debut
Lebanon forward Chris Saab has appeared to suffer a second unfortunate concussion of the Rugby League World Cup against the Kangaroos on Saturday night.
The 35-year-old clashed heads with Australia's David Klemmer in an ugly incident on the 22-minute mark.
Saab attempted to play the ball before losing his footing as he was approached by team doctors.
He was helped off the ground and appeared resigned to the fact that he would be ruled out for the rest of the game.
It was a concerning blow for a player who missed out on Lebanon's first two games after suffering from a bizarre mishap in the team's first warm-up:
Fans were well aware of his story and shared their disappointment on social media:
No, not Chris Saab. The poor guy doesn’t deserve this. ☹️ #RLWC2017 #AUSvLEB 🇱🇧
— Fab (@fabs_e) November 11, 2017
Biggest tragedy of RLWC2017 is Chris Saab not getting a break. Not one bloody break. So heartbreaking.
— Karate Warrior 2 (@me_dc) November 11, 2017
This is horrible. Chris Saab finally got to make his World Cup debut after such a long wait. Hopes he's okay #rlwc2017
— Martin Gabor (@MartinJGabor) November 11, 2017
Poor Chris Saab, semi pro Lebanon player in #RLWC2017 Waits 12 years for a World Cup, knocked out in warm up v France. 2 weeks out, KO again 20 mins into game v Aussies, biggest game of his life. #AUSvLEB @RLWC2017
— Kev Simmonds (@KevSimmonds) November 11, 2017
Klemmer was placed on report for his shot on the Cedars second-rower.