"The surgery took 40 minutes, I was in at 6 and then woke up at 7:30 and didn't even feel like I'd had surgery. We didn't know what to expect, to be honest. There were scary thoughts. I'm lucky Souths looked after me and took me to so many doctors to get the bigger picture on what we should do. We chose the right one."

"They go in through the front, move the oesophagus around, take the disc out and put another one in. It's amazing how they do it.

"They went through the front of the neck here," explained Turner, pointing to a bandage covering the incision point.

However, Dr Matthew Scott-Young, the brother of former Wallabies enforcer Sam Scott-Young, performed an operation which required the removal of a bulging disc through the front of Turner's throat, to be replaced by an artificial one.

Such is Turner's recovery that, if he continues to heal as expected, he could be fit to face Penrith at Pepper Stadium in early July. The 23 year old, who has lost significant weight during his layoff, will get a better gauge after he meets with his specialist on Thursday. But the fact he will be able to play again is remarkable given the injury and the numerous concussions that have plagued his career to date.

"I just remember being dazed on the ground, waking up and my arms had pins and needles in them. I was thinking it probably wasn't too good," he said of the injury.

"At the time I just wanted to get back out there and play. Luckily the Indigenous All Stars team didn't let me, I'm really thankful for that now because it could have been worse. They were scary times.

"There was a time when I thought about what was my best option for my future. I love football but you need to have a life after football too. There's always that to look at but I'm glad to be where I am now."

When Turner does return, he will do so with headgear in the hope of preventing further head knocks. The Coonabarabran Unicorns junior applauded the NRL's new concussion protocols aimed at protecting the welfare of its participants.