Newcastle NRL forward Pauli Pauli has been hospitalised with a hip injury following a multi-car accident north of Sydney.

The 22-year-old was driving one of seven vehicles involved in the crash, with eight adults suffering injuries in an incident that blocked the M1 at Cowan for several hours late on Wednesday night, police say.

Pauli’s passengers were among those hospitalised, with a 27-year-old woman suffering a broken leg, an 18-year-old man sustaining suspected spinal injuries, and a 15-year-old breaking his collarbone.

Four men and women, aged between 47 and 66, were also hospitalised following the crash while a 63-year-old woman escaped injury.

A 13-year-old girl was treated for bruising.

Pauli, who has played 48 games across three NRL seasons, remains in Gosford Hospital in a stable condition.

The accident comes as another blow for the Knights in the same week Jarrod Mullen was provisionally suspended for testing positive to an anabolic steroid.