Former Rabbitohs star George Burgess has confirmed he and his wife have contracted COVID-19 in England.
The Englishman departed South Sydney at the end of 2019 to play for Super League team Wigan Warriors.
However, the Rabbitohs premiership-winning forward revealed earlier this month he'd cut ties with the English club after just eight appearances due to an ongoing hip issue.
It requires a a seven-month month rehabilitation program, threatening to end the 29-year old's career as he prepares to undergo surgery.
And Burgess has been thrown another curveball, revealing on SEN radio things that he and his wife are quarantining after catching the coronavirus.
โYouโll never believe it, weโre halfway through quarantine at the minute because Iโve got COVID, along with my wife Joanna,โ Burgess said on SEN'sย Breakfast with Vossy.
โWeโve both got COVID. So weโre stuck at home for 10 days which is what the protocols are over here.
โThatโs what weโre dealing with at the minute. Three kids under three (years old) in a small house in the north of England.
โI had a few symptoms early on but weโre sort of at the back end of it now so Iโm OK. I had some shortness of breath, bit of a cough, normal flu symptoms really.
โItโs not great, itโs not something you want to get.โ
Burgess explained that his hip condition affected him during his time at South Sydney and he had hoped it would improve at Wigan.
But it continued to get worse early last year, causing him to cut his training loads back.
Now, Burgess finds himself uncontracted and facing a long road ahead to get back to playing rugby league again.
โI had it my whole time at Souths, obviously it was managed a few different ways,โ he said.
โOver the years it got worse gradually. I thought going to Wigan I could get it right but itโs not been great.
โLast year when we first went into that first lockdown it started to deteroriate, with not being able to do my normal training.
โItโs one of those hard decisions you make in life but I thought it was the right one in the end.โ
Burgess played 150 NRL games for the Rabbitohs from 2012-2019, claimingDally M Rookie of the Year honours in 2013.
