THE Swans $10 million superstar Buddy Franklin is facing the fight of his life after revealing he is stricken with a “mental health” condition and battles epilepsy.

As the sporting world rallied behind the AFL champion, Franklin has taken indefinite “time out” from the game he loves to deal with the crisis. The bombshell, on the eve of the finals series, comes just days after Franklin collapsed at his favourite Bondi Beach cafe.

Franklin, 28, was rushed to St Vincent’s Hospital after a seizure at 7.30am on Friday during his daily morning coffee run to the Skinny Dip Cafe on Hall St.

News of his collapse, first revealed by The Daily Telegraph, prompted his club to issue a statement revealing that he has been suffering from “mild epilepsy” — unrelated to his mental health concerns.

PODCAST: Neil Cordy on Buddy Franklin:

Adding to Franklin’s woes is that his fiancee, former Miss Universe Australia and television star Jesinta Campbell, is overseas and can’t be with him during this bleak time.

She is busy in Japan filming segments for Getaway.

Campbell was in the Qantas lounge at Sydney Airport when she heard news of the fit.

A source claimed she saw Franklin’s famous fiancee break into tears when she got a voicemail message detailing his latest health setback.

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media_camera Jesinta Campbell is understood to have been minutes from boarding a flight to Japan when she was informed of Buddy’s condition.

The female witness said the 24-year-old TV presenter “got really upset and started crying” at 8.30am, the same time Franklin was being checked into hospital. She claimed to overhear a conversation about “a seizure of some sort, and that it wasn’t the first time it had happened”.

Ambulance NSW confirmed paramedics had been called to “a premises on Hall St, Bondi” following reports of a patient “having a fit”.

Franklin arrived at St Vincent’s Hospital for treatment shortly after 8am in a “stable condition”.

It is understood Franklin ­informed the Sydney Swans of the episode and was later named in the side’s final ­regular-season game against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night.

media_camera Fight of his life ... Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin / Picture: Phil Hillyard

The club then issued a statement revealing Franklin suffered from “mild epilepsy”, a condition it claims is unrelated to Franklin’s ongoing mental health concerns.

Franklin scored a single goal on a lacklustre night by his high standards against the Suns on Saturday, playing only his second game after a lengthy stint on the sidelines due to back and rib injuries.

Sydney play the Dockers on Saturday afternoon in Perth, with the winners advancing to the grand final playoffs in a fortnight and the losers facing sudden death.

media_camera Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin and Jesinta Campbell / Picture: Twitter

media_camera Buddy Franklin suffered the suspected seizure at Bondi Cafe Skinny Dip. Picture: Facebook

BUDDY FRANKLIN SIDELINED WITH ‘ONGOING MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION’

JESINTA CAMPBELL OVERSEAS AS BUDDY BREAKS DOWN

A LIFETIME OF HEADLINES IN TWO YEARS: BUDDY’S LIFE AS A SWAN

In a dramatic press conference yesterday afternoon, Swans coach John Longmire did not talk about Friday’s seizure but detailed the mental health dramas plaguing their star signing.

“It’s a serious condition (and) he needs to spend some time away from the football club,” Longmire said. “He won’t be playing this week. How long it will take we will have to wait and see. Our thoughts are with Lance and we hope he’s going to be OK.’’

Longmire said Franklin’s condition was “very treatable” but he needed to take some time out from the sport to ­address it.

media_camera Lance Franklin against the Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night. Just under 36 hours earlier he was rushed to hospital after suffering a seizure at a Bondi cafe.

The coach added that “he’s getting the best possible care to address the condition he’s got and we’re confident he’ll be able to get better soon, It has been an ongoing condition for a while with Lance, but these type of things are very private and you have to be mindful of that.

“Teammates, staff, coaches and the media and supporters have to be mindful of that.’’

Campbell has provided no clues about her fiance’s struggles to her tens of thousands of social media followers around the world since arriving in Japan. She has been busy uploading photos of Japanese scenery and food to her Instagram and Twitter profiles and ­posting Happy Father’s Day messages.

media_camera Buddy Franklin in action on the field. media_camera Buddy Franklin aged 11 / Picture: Supplied

Studio 10 co-host Sarah Harris tweeted: “Good on Buddy Franklin for speaking up and getting the help he needs. Feel better soon dude.”

Franklin suffered a suspected seizure just prior to the 2014 AFL season.

And last April he was ­involved in a serious car accident when he drove his luxury Jeep into a line of parked cars on New South Head Rd in Rose Bay.

The Perth-born Franklin was signed to the Swans at the end of 2013 for a record $10 million contract.

The Daily Telegraph understands staff at Bondi’s Skinny Dip Cafe who witnessed Franklin’s seizure on Friday have sworn themselves to secrecy.