Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says he will return to work in two weeks in a fresh update on his recovery from a serious back injury. In a statement on Saturday night, Mr. Andrews said he was “raring” to return to the state’s top job on Monday, June 28.
“The good news is the vertebrae in my back are almost fully healed, the braces come off – that’s the brace I’ve worn for 18 hours a day for the last three months – but the ribs are not fully healed, they’ll take a while,” Mr. Andrews said in a video message posted to Facebook. “The doctors tell me these next few weeks will be a quite painful adjustment to getting used to not having that brace on.
“I’ll be back very soon in the next couple of weeks, and I am raring to go. Once I’m fully fit and healthy, I’ll be back. “I think being Premier of this state is a great honor, and I look forward to working hard every day getting things done, and I look forward to seeing you all very soon.”
Mr. Andrews thanked his wife Catherine and their three children for their love and support, as well as paramedics and staff at The Alfred Hospital, where he was hospitalized after his fall on March 9. He also thanked the public for their good wishes during his recovery.
His statement on Saturday night did not comment on recent bizarre conspiracies about his months of sick leave, including that there had been a “cover-up”. This week, the claims were given more life when Victorian Opposition Treasurer Louise Staley released a list of questions she said the injured Premier “must answer” about the nature of his accident on March 9.
Among them, Ms. Staley demanded to know when the ambulance was called for Mr. Andrews, whether police attended the scene, and whether he had been formally or informally interviewed by police “about anything that occurred” on the long weekend of his fall.
Ms. Staley said Mr. Andrews had no reason not to answer the questions “if there is no cover-up”. The cover-up claims have been dismissed by Acting Premier James Merlino as the musings of “conspiracy nutters,” and members of her own party have widely condemned Ms. Staley’s commets.
