Former Melbourne Rebels lock Hoani Macdonald is out of hospital after treatment following his shock collapse while playing for Southland in last weekend’s NPC rugby championship semi-final in Auckland.

Macdonald, 34, was discharged on Saturday afternoon after a successful operation on Friday in Auckland Hospital to implant a cardio-verter defibrillator as a precaution, Rugby Southland commercial manager Mark Wilson said.

The device controls irregular heartbeats and is intended to prevent sudden cardiac arrest.

The former Junior All Black and New Zealand Maori representative was treated at Middlemore Hospital, where he was initially put in an induced coma, but was moved to Auckland Hospital specifically for the operation.

“The events of the last eight days have been a lot to comprehend for Macdonald and his family, who for the immediate future will be staying in Auckland to be close to medical support while allowing time for them to reflect on and deal with the past week,” Wilson said.

“The family have asked for continued privacy and are looking forward to some time together out of the hospital while Hoani continues his recovery.”

Recent tests had been encouraging and it appeared Macdonald had suffered no long-term damage to his heart.