The Brisbane Broncos chief medical officer, Dr Matt Hislop, has provided an update on Corey Jensen after he was sidelined indefinitely with blood clots in his lungs.
Jensen was last seen in the NRL in Round 7 against the Wests Tigers, where he became unwell following the conclusion of the game.
"At the completion of the game against the Tigers, Corey felt generally unwell, with shortness of breath," Hislop said in a Broncos statement.
"He later developed chest pain, and he began to cough up blood. Corey received a scan which showed he had significant blood clots that had blocked off arteries in the base of both lungs, and which in the right side was leading to blocked off blood supply to that part of his lung."
Jensen underwent medication to thin the blood and result in removing the buildup of clots that were forming in his lungs.
There are major concerns surrounding why these clots were forming, which is still currently unknown by Hislop and specialists.
"Corey started a long period of treatment under the care of Respiratory Physicians, Haematologists, Cardiologists and Infectious Diseases specialists at the Mater Private Hospital in Brisbane," he continued
"He commenced a course of blood thinning or anti-coagulant medication with the hope that the established blood clots would break down and to stop further clots from forming. His recovery was complicated by infection, and he needed more than a litre of fluid drained via a chest tube.
"Corey was eventually discharged and able to begin the long recovery process. The big concern is that the reason for developing these clots remains unknown."
With fears of an autoimmune issue, further testing went underway, although clots still remained present in CT scans.
"Corey is being investigated for possible causes and requires repeat definitive blood tests in around 3 weeks to see if there is an underlying autoimmune issue. Complicating this was the fact that a follow up CT scan showed that although the clots in his lung had improved, they were still present.
"Because of this, his specialists have stated that Corey will require a minimum of six months on a blood thinner called Warfarin. Having to stay on Warfarin means Corey cannot take part in contact sports. He has been able to return to training and can run and lift weights. He is currently quite fit, but while he remains on Warfarin he cannot do contact training.
"The future is a little uncertain for Corey. If the upcoming blood test is positive, it will likely mean he needs to stay on Warfarin for the rest of his life. If it is negative, it still means we do not know the reason for his recurrent development of blood clots.
"At present it looks like he will still need to stay on blood thinners long term, but there is a possibility that a different type of blood thinner could be started, which could be potentially stopped around contact and re-started afterwards. Obviously, this is not without risk, but it could allow Corey to continue to play rugby league."
If Jensen receives results indicating he must remain on blood thinners for life, it suggests he faces retirement from the NRL.
The Townsville-junior has made 153 appearances since his NRL debut in 2017.
He played 17 matches in his maiden year with the North Queensland Cowboys before making a switch down south to the Broncos in 2022.
Jensen was an integral member of the Broncos' premiership run in 2025, playing 25 games for the club last year.
He started in the front row in the Grand Final and started off this year positively before his condition worsened in April.
