He was diagnosed with a rare heart condition in pre-season. On Saturday, Liam Le Blanc makes his Souths debut
Liam Le Blanc will crown a rollercoaster 12 months, which included being diagnosed with a rare condition that led to heart surgery, when he makes his debut for South Sydney on Saturday night.
Le Blanc, a 19-year-old middle forward, has been named on the bench for the clash against a heavily depleted Manly side.
But the 2022 Australian Schoolboys representative feared he might not be fit enough to play at all this season after he discovered he had Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, or WPW, which causes episodes of rapid heart rate.
Souths medicos picked up the problem during the pre-season following an ECG. Le Blanc underwent a series of stress tests, and required radio frequency ablation. He then had surgery before waiting to get the all clear from specialists to resume his league career.
“He could train, but he was not allowed to get his heart above a certain rate,” interim Souths coach Ben Hornby said. “He couldn’t train hard. It was a slow build.
“Once he got the all clear to play again, we had to build him up the best we could. He’s been back in [NSW] Cup for about four weeks, and each week he has just got better. He’s tough, he’s got a bit of footwork, and just a good kid who trains hard. It’s great he gets to debut.
Jye Gray also returns from an ankle injury for the first time since round nine. Gray will wear Latrell Mitchell’s No.1 jersey, but it remains to be seen if the pint-sized speedster retains the position once Mitchell returns from Origin duty.
Gray made his debut while Mitchell was suspended earlier in the season, and there were suggestions he would move to fullback to allow Mitchell to return in the centres, where he will play for the Blues.
