A footy injury was a blessing in disguise for Bilal Hassan, saving his life.

A sharp-eyed Thomastown Meadows Primary School staffer examining the 10-year-old’s bruised thumb noticed his fingers were blue.

She suggested he go straight to The Royal Children’s Hospital, where doctors discovered he had a hole in his heart and a malformed chamber.

In a five-hour operation on Bilal a fortnight ago, RCH cardiac surgeon Prof Konstantinov repaired the hole, reshaped his malformed right ventricle and reworked some of the plumbing.

The Lalor lad, now expected to lead a full and happy life, went home yesterday.

Words by Marianne Betts.

Click here to read the full story on the Herald Sun website.