Power Slap contestant Jake Hager has needed to undergo a second eye surgery after suffering a gruesome injury in the competition last month.
During a bout in mid-September, Hager was hit in the eyeball by his opponent, Johnny Magna, which led to blood weeping from his eye. Hager was immediately taken to the hospital and required surgery.
On October 23, Hager’s fiancée Patricia Blackburn revealed that Hager underwent an additional surgery to repair a detached retina.
The diagnosis of a detached retina was confirmed after the blood in Hager’s eye began to clear up – allowing doctors to see the damage better.
Hager has been routinely attending follow-up appointments each week, with reports noting the operation went better than expected.
‘As the blood in Jake Hager’s eye began to clear, doctors discovered in his weekly follow-up that his retina was detached,’ read a report from Slap News.
Former WWE star Jake Hager (R) required a second surgery to repair a detached retina after suffered a horrific injury in a Power Slap competition that required emergency surgery
Hager was hit in the eye by his opponent, leading to blood weeping from his face
Power Slap executive Dana White called it ‘the worst injury in Power Slap or UFC ever’
‘He underwent urgent surgery to reattach it, which doctors said went better than expected.’
Wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer reported that Hager had started to gain sight in his eye earlier this month, but may need further operations.
As for his future in the up-and-coming fighting circuit, Blackburn said: ‘The expectation of him returning to compete, that decision is going to be based on his recovery and what the doctors say.’
After the hit, Hager – who previously competed in WWE and AEW – instantly grabbed his face and told the referee: ‘He hit me right in the eye.’
Broadcast cameras then showed streams of tears and blood pouring out of his eyeball as the ringside doctors stopped the match and put towels on Hager’s face to soak up the leakage.
In a livestream after the fight, White described it as ‘probably the worst injury in Power Slap or UFC ever’ – adding that doctors believe Hager’s tear duct ruptured from the hit and said they had never seen an injury of this kind before.
White, who thinks of himself as a ‘replay lunatic’ – even took the measure of telling the production booth to not show the impact again on the broadcast.
