Footy star opens up about the harrowing moment he almost took his own life after a silent battle with drug addiction, a messy relationship breakdown and a career-ending injury

A former NRL star has revealed he was nearly pushed to take his own life after struggling with drug addiction and personal issues following a gruesome career-ending injury.

Brisbane Broncos star Jharal Yow Yeh suffered a compound fracture to his ankle after competing for a high ball against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Perth in 2012.

The injury was so severe doctors initially feared the champion winger's foot may need to be amputated and required ten operations in recovery. 

The former Broncos, Queensland and Australian representative was forced to retire in 2014 at just 24-years-old, leading him into a dangerous spiral of drug abuse and on the verge of suicide.

Jharal Yow Yeh (pictured with his wife Ashley) nearly took his own life in the washout of his brutal ankle injury

'People say does it still hurt... yeah f**k it still hurts man,' Yow Yeh told Sam Thaiday's 'We Are Human' podcast.

'If I showed the world what is really wrong with me people would be horrified. I don't think people would understand the severity. I would say I am disabled in some capacity.

'I knew it was bad when I went to the hospital and a lady got out my file. I was a 23-year-old man, yet it was as if I was a 60-year-old and she said, "I have never seen anything like this and I have been here for 15 years."

'Mentally, it gets to you as well.'

The 30-year-old opened up on his silent fight after his football career and revealed he became addicted to painkillers as he tried to recover from the injury.

'Painkillers were a really good friend of mine for a very long period of time. I could not get out of them, man. It got really bad,' he said.

Yow Yeh passes the ball during an Australian Kangaroos training session on the Gold Coast in May 2011

Yow Yeh revealed he would mix alcohol, prescription drugs and sleeping pills on wild nights out to mask the pain of his ankle.

'I got away with a lot because I seemed so happy so no one would ask me questions. One night I went to an establishment and took about six endos (Endodan painkillers) and got absolutely blind,' he said.

'I don’t remember too much of that night, but I remember waking up and thinking I did take all those last night? I don’t know how I survived that. It got worse from there. 

'I started to play footy again but I was still taking prescription drugs. Where it got bad again was I had ended a relationship and I hit rock bottom.'

Yow Yeh was dating British and Portuguese model Anna-Lucia Thackeray at the time of the injury, who sat by his bedside while he was cooped up in hospital.

The pair split during Yow Yeh's recovery as the former NRL star fought his personal demons to try and bounce back from depression in the washout of his career.

The champion winger (pictured with his wife Ashley) was forced to retire at 24-years-old after a compound fracture

Yow Yeh breaks from Manly defender Steve Matai during the Broncos match against against the Eagles in May 2011

Without the help of a neighbour who put him in touch with an Ashgrove pastor, Yow Yeh believes he would have taken his own life. 

'I was not picking up anyone’s phone calls. My mother was calling and my grandmother was calling me but I didn’t answer them. I didn’t care about anyone. That was the day I would have killed myself I reckon. Not reckon – I almost did,' he said.

'I reckon if my neighbour did not pick up her phone that was probably going to be it. I was on the ground crying and "I can’t do this s**t any more".

Yow Yeh moved into an off-field ambassador role at the Broncos after retiring from the NRL but was let go amid coronavirus cuts in March.

While he is still feeling the effects of his injury today, Yow Yeh said he is in a great head space moving forward with his growing young family.  

'I am a lot better. I have a beautiful wife. A new baby on the way and a great family. I am such a different person, I am very spiritual now,' he said.

'The last few years have been a journey but made me the man I am now. I am excited to see what life brings.'

Yow Yeh (pictured with his wife Ashley) credits an Ashgrove pastor with saving him from his personal demons