‘Geez, it was a long wait’: Roos legend’s ambulance delay after leg break

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North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey had surgery on Sunday morning after suffering a broken right leg playing in a local football match then enduring a long wait for an ambulance.

North Heidelberg’s general manager of football operations Kane O’Brien confirmed the VFL/AFL games record-holder sustained fractures to his tibia and fibula early in the first quarter of the club’s round one loss to Heidelberg on Saturday.

North Melbourne legend Brent Harvey posted this image on Instagram after having surgery on Sunday morning. Harvey suffered a broken right leg playing in a local football match then endured a long wait for an ambulance.

The 44-year-old Harvey, who played 432 AFL matches between 1996 and 2012, was stretchered from Shelley Reserve, in Heidelberg, after “yelling out in pain”, but the ambulance did not arrive until about half-time.

He fell to ground after winning the ball in a contest and held his injured leg in agony while trainers from both clubs attended to him.

Harvey’s brother, Shane, who played 18 matches for Essendon and North Melbourne, was also in North Heidelberg’s line-up and was in tears after the injury but played out the game. Other family members were in the crowd.

“He had the leg plastered last night [Saturday], then had screws put in this morning,” O’Brien told The Age.

Harvey was kicking goals for charity at the Good Friday match a week before his injury.Credit: AFL Photos

“He was in a fair bit of pain, but he had to wait a good 50 minutes before the ambulance got there. We had a kid go down with a broken ankle at training in the pre-season, and it was a similar sort of wait.

“Apparently the paramedics are being called out for things they don’t need to be, but, geez, it was a long wait.”

Harvey has played for the Bulldogs in the Northern Football League since his AFL career ended, and was set to appear more often this season before his setback, given he is no longer a runner at North Melbourne.

“It’s something you never want to see because you hope players get through OK,” O’Brien said.

“One of the Heidelberg trainers stayed with him the whole time, and he had relatives around him.

“Shane [Harvey] came to the bench at one stage and was in tears, and we told him he could go, but he played the game out – it was hard for him.”

It is unclear whether Harvey will be able to play again this season, but O’Brien said the midfield great’s broken leg would be placed in a moon boot after he gets out of plaster.

The Roos drafted Harvey’s son, Cooper, last year, but he is yet to make his AFL debut.

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