FORMER Collingwood and Fremantle forward Jack Anthony has been cleared of any bone and spinal cord damage after suffering a serious neck injury in the NEAFL on Saturday. 

The 28-year-old, who was playing for Gold Coast-based team Southport, was taken off the ground on a stretcher and rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital, where he regained movement in his feet and hands.

Anthony underwent a CT scan, which cleared the goalkicker of any bone damage, and received further good news when an MRI scan cleared him of any spinal cord damage.

In a tweet issued by Southport on Sunday afternoon, the club said Anthony had escaped with "strained ligaments" around his spine and would be discharged from hospital in a neck brace.

The match between Southport and Aspley was abandoned at three-quarter time as a result of the collision.

Anthony suffered a serious neck injury during his time at Collingwood, which forced him to miss the entire 2007 season.

He featured in 43 matches for the Magpies between 2008 and 2010 after overcoming the neck injury, and played a further eight games at Fremantle in 2011-12.