Newly appointed Manly Sea Eagles chief executive Graham Lowe will have heart surgery before Christmas after collapsing in Auckland earlier this week.
Reports from Sydney said Lowe, 63, would probably have double by-pass surgery before Christmas and was expected to take up his new role at Manly in February.
The club announced Lowe's appointment last month, saying he had the "unanimous support" of the club's board.
Lowe said last month he was looking forward to his "dream job".
"I have some unfinished business at the club I learned to love when I coached for two years from 1990. To come back almost 20 years later as CEO is something really special," he said last month.
Lowe collapsed while waiting for a flight to Sydney on Monday.
The Daily Telegraph in Sydney said today Manly's pre-season had been rocked by the news he needed urgent heart surgery.
The newspaper said hours after getting the news from his cardiologist in Auckland he was adamant he would be healthy enough to lead Manly's front office in 2010.
Blood tests revealed multiple blockages to arteries around the heart and Lowe told the paper it was likely he would have the operation before Christmas. He had a triple heart bypass 16 years ago.
"I'm lucky the doctors have found this before something bad might have happened," he said.
Lowe told the paper he knew the news would fuel speculation he was not fit for the job.
"It's a fixable problem.
"I feel absolutely fine at the moment.
"I'm not focused on anything else but getting it fixed and going back to work," he said.
Sea Eagles chairman Scott Penn told the paper it was likely Lowe would be given six weeks to rest.
NZPA