Matt Eisenhuth reveals the heartbreaking moment that put his football career in jeopardy

Wests Tigers lock Matt Eisenhuth has broken down the heartbreaking moment he discovered that he had a leg tumour back in 2014.

Eisenhuth was expected to never be able to play football again after the discovery of a giant cell tumour behind his knee, but he has been able to make it all the way back to full health.

In a written piece for the Players Voice, the 25-year-old elaborated on the moment that changed his life forever.

“I couldn’t call my parents. After all they had done for me – after all they had done for my football career – the news would have upset them too much,” Eisenhuth wrote.

“I felt like my world was caving in.”

Eisenhuth explained that despite being bothered by a nagging pain adjacent to his knee, he was more fixated on rehabbing a serious shoulder injury.

Despite feeling well below 100 percent, Eisenhuth attempted to run out a Ron Massey Cup game for the Panthers’ feeder side, and was severely limited, prompting him to get scans on his increasingly troublesome his leg as a precaution.

“In the middle of the scans, I could tell something wasn’t good,” he wrote.

“The people at the imaging place stopped what they were doing and came in to ask how long I’d been experiencing pain.”

Following the scan, Eisenhuth received the news that rocked his world.

“I found out the next day that it was a tumour and that it had to be removed,” he wrote.

“The doctor said there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to come back and play rugby league. I broke down. I was shattered.”

Eisenhuth’s horrific news was met with widespread support from the Penrith Panthers and he stated that he’d “never forget the things they did for [him]” throughout the entire ordeal.

Eisenhuth is now playing under veteran coach Ivan Cleary at the Tigers, and praised Cleary’s ability to connect with every single one of his players.

“He is a good family man,” he wrote.

“The first question he’s likely to ask is, ‘How are things at home?’ and he cares about the answer.”