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Canterbury Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould has posted an update from his hospital bed after being hospitalised this week with serious health issues.
Nine's Danny Weidler announced during Wednesday's Dally M awards that Gould, 67, had been in hospital since Monday and has 'a big couple of days ahead'.
'Nine league expert and Bulldogs boss Phil Gould has been in hospital since Monday and has some significant health concerns,' Weidler wrote on X.
The Australian reported that the footy guru was 'awaiting test results relating to a heart condition'.
Gould posted an update on his health condition on Thursday morning and thanked his fans for sending their support.
'Thank you to all the very kind well-wishers. Greatly appreciated,' he posted on X.
Phil Gould has posted an update from his hospital bed after being hospitalised this week
The 67-year-old footy guru gave an update on his health situation on Thursday morning
'Everything is ok. My regular blood tests this week, showed up something else that needed investigation.
'Basically, I came in to change the tyres, and they found a problem with the engine. Go figure. I'm lucky they found it early.
'The Doctors and Hospital staff have been simply amazing, but hopefully I'm going home soon. Looking forward to Grand Final Day. Best wishes to all. Thanks again.'
He was not present on Channel Nine's 100% Footy show on Monday night. However, the footy boss has been in good spirits and has stayed in contact with members of the Bulldogs hierarchy via email from his hospital bed.
Gould was also not present on Nine's Six Tackles with Gus podcast. Former footy player and media personality Darryl Brohman took his place.
Host Mat Thompson revealed that Gould's health issues have been troubling him for weeks.
'Now some serious business to start, over the last few weeks my man Gus has had some health issues unfortunately,' he said.
'And viewers of 100% Footy would've seen he was absent from the show on Monday and unfortunately he can't be with me this week either.
Concerns were raised earlier this year for the former Canterbury and Penrith coach, after the footy icon published a photo on social media after undergoing eye surgery
Gould says his blood tests showed something that needed investigation
League reporter Danny Weidler made the announcement on Wednesday, revealing that he had spoken to Gould earlier this week
'Given it's grand final, is a real shame.'
Brohman passed on his best regards to Gould.
'I hope Gus is OK. I know he's not 100 per cent by a long way,' he said.
Canterbury chief executive Aaron Warburton said Gould is due to undergo further tests.
'He's had a few tests and will have a few more,' Warburton said to News Corp. 'He's in good spirits.'
Concerns were raised earlier this year for the former Canterbury and Penrith coach, after the footy icon published a photo on social media after undergoing eye surgery.
The 67-year-old wore a see-through eye-patch over his 'new eye', and took a short break from rugby league following the scheduled procedure.
He showed off his bandages on social media, adding a caption: 'And there it is … A new eye.'
Gould, who has over 75,000 followers on X, also revealed that he has already booked in with his doctor to get his other eye done at some stage in the future.
Despite being admitted to hospital over the weekend for a separate health matter, Gould has still been very active on social media over the past week, notably taking to X to congratulate Brisbane Broncos for their finals victory against Penrith on Sunday afternoon.
It's been a busy year for the footy coach, whose side were knocked out of this year's finals series by Penrith, despite being a hot favourite to finally end their 21-year wait for a flag.
In May Gould was embroiled in a heated exchange with rugby league journalist Michael Chammas on 100% Footy in relation to Canterbury chasing Wests Tigers star Lachlan Galvin
It comes as the former Penrith player hit out at the NRL for its preliminary final scheduling.
He lashed out at the league on Nine's Wide World of Sports, appearing to claim that the Melbourne Storm had been given an unfair advantage heading into this weekend's NRL Grand Final against the Broncos.
Gould appeared to claim that hosting a preliminary final between the Storm and the Sharks on Friday night and the second final between the Broncos and the Panthers on Sunday made a lopsided build-up to Sunday's showpiece event, which will kick off at 7.30pm at the Accor Stadium.
Typically, preliminary final matches are played on concurrent nights. That gives both victors a fairly equal time-frame to recover before the Grand Final.
However, Gould was left fuming by the scheduling decision.
'They are gonna get an extra two days of recovery leading into the grand final,' he said on Wide World of Sports' Six Tackles With Gus.
'That's huge at this time of year, absolutely huge. That's again one of the vagaries in our game that we just overlook and say that's OK, we will just have to put up with it. I really don't think it's fair.'
The games were understood to have been switched around in order to avoid a conflict with the AFL Grand Final on Saturday afternoon.
But Gould was not fussed one bit about events taking place at the MCG.
'Bugger the AFL grand final. Play them both (the NRL prelims) on Sunday, I don't care. Play them both on Friday night, I don't care,' Gould fumed.
Despite being admitted to hospital over the weekend for a separate health matter, Gould has still been very active on social media over the past week, notably taking to X to congratulate Brisbane Broncos for their finals victory against Penrith on Sunday afternoon
'I think a 48-hour advantage for the Storm or Sharks leading into the grand final is huge. That's not fair, that's not even.'
Gould has enjoyed a distinguished career in rugby league as a player, coach and administrator.
The 5ft 11in second-row began his rugby league journey playing junior footy for the Wentworthville Magpies.
He'd later be snapped up by the Penrith Panthers in 1976, and he would remain at the club for four years, making 23 appearances.
A spell at the Newtown Jets would follow before he joined up with Canterbury in 1983, making 40 appearances for the Bulldogs. Injuries would prevent Gould from getting regular game time in the latter years of his career, with the footy star moving to the Souths for a season in 1986 before hanging up his boots.
This would ultimately kick-start his coaching journey, with Gould going on to take charge of the Bulldogs two years later, before enjoying spells at Penrith and the Roosters, winning premierships with the Bulldogs and the Panthers.
Gould enjoyed a successful spell as the Blues boss, winning six State of Origin titles as the boss of New South Wales.
Earlier this year, Gould was also embroiled in a heated exchange with league reporter Michael Chammas on Nine's 100% Footy, regarding former Bulldogs star Lachlan Galvin's unceremonious exit from the footy club.
Gould has enjoyed a distinguished career in the sport, winning multiple premierships as a coach with the Bulldogs and Panthers
During the debate, Gould had denied claims he'd misled the public about signing the playmaker before hitting out at Chammas.
'How did I mislead you on Lachlan Galvin?' Gould asked in tense scenes.
'I never said I wasn't interested. What I said was we're on a different course, he's not in our plans because he wasn't off contract until 2027.
'You're summising that because it's happened. You want that to be the truth.
'You want that to be the truth, that's the scenario you want to create. I didn't see it happening that way at all, not at all.
'You go back and review everything I've said about Lachlan Galvin and what transpired and everything I said was 100 per cent the truth at the time.'
