Ouch! That’s must have been painful!

Its Sunday guys, so it’s time for another one of these. This week, the wheel decided to go with the sports section (AGAIN)!!! So following Robin Van Persie’s nasty eye injury last weekend, where he suffered a torn eye lid in a Turkish league game between Fenerbahce and Akhisar Belediyespor, I’ll be picking some of the worst injuries the game has ever witnessed. So get your tissues out if you're an emotional person and let’s get in the casualty list.

First up on the list is Petr Cech. Nowadays, the headgear he wears each and every match day has become a trademark of his. With the match only a few seconds old, in a match between Reading and Chelsea on the 14th of October 2016, Reading striker Stephen Hunt, collided with the Czech keeper with the knee. The goalkeeper had to receive treatment on the pitch and was replaced after 5 minutes of stoppage. The Chelsea goalkeeper suffered a skull fracture and could have died as a result. Miraculously, Cech only missed 3 months of football but he admits that he doesn’t remember what happened that day because of the extent of the injury.

Next on the list is French player, Djibril Cisse. In a friendly match against China, Cisse lost balance whilst challenging for the ball against the Chinese captain Zheng Zhi, twisting his leg in the process. Cisse made a quick recovery considering the extent of the injury and returned to action 4 and a half months later. Thierry Henry claimed that it was heart-breaking seeing his fellow country man get injured in such a manner, especially given the fact that he had suffered a similar injury two years before whilst playing with Liverpool.

Another Frenchman who was freakishly injured on international duty was Patrick Battiston during the 1982 World Cup Semi Final against Germany. Whilst running through on goal, Herald Schumacher charged into him and left the Saint Etienne player on the floor. People are still baffled how the German goalkeeper managed to avoid punishment. Apart from being stretchered out in coma, Battiston suffered a broken jaw, lost four of his front teeth and damaged his vertebrae. Despite this, he returned to work 5 months later.

Now this! This injury highlights the lack of ardour modern day players have for the game. It was a Bundesliga match between Arminia Bielefeld and Werder Bremen, on the opening day of the season. A ball was crossed towards Ewald Lienen only for Norbert Siegmann of Werder Bremen to tackle him by slitting his thigh wide open, so much so that his muscles and bones were left exposed. Just to highlight the extent of the injury, the wound was 25cm deep and required 23 stiches to fix. Upon being on the receiving end of such a nasty challenge, Ewald Lienen limped with fury towards the Werder Bremen boss shouting and claiming that he was inciting his players to play rough. A player nowadays would have rolled round and cried. And yes, the Werder Bremen defender received a yellow card only! On top of that, despite such a horrific injury the German midfield returned on the playing field just 13 days later, DAYS!!!

Finally, an injury which is considered by most as the worst injury the footballing world has ever graced, we have David Busst’s injury in a match between Manchester United and Coventry City. To highlight the extent of the injury, the goalkeeper in opposition, Peter Schmeichel, who had a clear cut image of the accident, required counselling to get over it. Following a save by the Manchester United custodian, the ball fell in front of Busst who tried to tap it into the goal. At the same time United’s defender, Denis Irwin tried to clear the ball. As a result of this he broke his tibia and fibula in such a manner that the bone nearly pierced his skin. As a result of the accident, the match was delayed by 9 minutes as the blood had to be cleaned off the pitch. The injury required 26 operations and at one point in time there was a fear that the English defender might lose his leg completely. Due to such a horrific injury, David Busst had to announce his retirement and he still carries the effects with him as can be seen in the picture below.

Wow, that was spine tingling, wasn’t it? It’s really sad to see players sustain such injuries, especially when it spells the end of their footballing career. Anyways, hope you liked it guys. I’ll promise that I’ll try and talk about other sports next time! Hope you liked it and as usual feel free to comment! Until next Sunday it is!! Ta Daaa!!!