GRAPHIC: Raiders star Albert Hopoate reveals extent of badly burned arm from BBQ explosion

Canberra Raiders star Albert Hopoate has revealed the horrifying extent of his burnt arm, which was subjected to a freak BBQ explosion while having dinner with a teammate.

The former New South Wales Blues star suffered the burns ahead of Canberra’s Round 4 match against Cronulla when an olive oil bottle caught fire and exploded at the home of his teammate Corey Harawira-Naera.

In a staggering show of bravado, the full-back attempted to return to training the next day before being ruled out for several weeks to recover.

He spoke for the first time since the incident, Hopoate said News Corp that he considered himself lucky despite the extensive burns on his arm.

‘I’m lucky, it could have got my face, my eyes, who knows?’ he said.

‘The pain was quite bad. I went straight to the doctor and he patched it up.

‘I’m pretty lucky, that’s for sure. Someone left some olive oil too close to the grill and the can exploded in flames.

‘The picture you have was a few days after it happened.

Hopoate is hoping to make a miraculous recovery and return to the Raiders next week

The incident took place while Hopoate was at the home of teammate Corey Harawira-Naera

‘It’s not pretty. Luckily it didn’t get infected and I have no pain.

‘I’ve been back to training and can catch and pass a foot again.

‘I feel good and hope to play next week.’

His famous footballer father John Hopoate had initially made light of the incident before admitting his son was very lucky to escape without more serious injuries.

“I always told him he was a bad cook – he’s been trying to make his own arm,” he said at the time.

‘He takes after his mother (Brenda). She is the worst cook in the world.

“Seriously, he was at Corey’s house when one of those spray cans on the back of a grill blew up. He got some pretty bad burns. It was scary.

“He’s lucky it only burned his arm and not his face.”

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart was also thankful Hopoate’s injuries were not more serious.

“It’s such an unfortunate incident,” he said.

‘Albert has been very consistent and solid for us with his performances at the start of the season. He won’t be out long.

“The doctor wants to make sure the burns heal properly. You don’t want to risk him getting further infection. Albert was in today and wanted to train and do the session. Sometimes you need to pull players back and (protect) them against himself.

‘Albert is a great guy and a big part of our team.’