So, an injury in the NBA today led to a discussion between some buddies of mine about the worst sports injuries they've seen. Most of them ended up being soccer-related. What is the worst injury you've seen? I've got my money on Smith's leg/ankle against Liverpool last year.
David Busst http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Busst You don't see anything in the clip but it shows the immediate reaction from Schmeichel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byOKCMQpxKo http://www.wimp.com/breaks/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lXfs6JuVq8 or just for kicks... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFwDD1qabtc Ewald Lienen Malarchuk's slice, Theismann's break and McCallum's knee were bad. EDIT: Alex Zanardi's crash was really bad as well. Lost both legs as a result (one above the knee and one below the knee). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/motorsports/news/2001/09/15/zanardi_crash_ap/#null
Smiths was very bad, I did the same same exact thing to my leg/ankle in 2003 and it feels as bad as it looks but for pure horror, I also have to go with Busst. That is the worst break I have ever seen including Cisse's(the first one) Larrsons and Thiesman and all those were totally awful earth shattering injuries. There was a guy for West Ham or Villa around 2000 that broke his leg in while colliding with a Keeper and it looked like his leg bent upwards with his toes near his kneecap. The sliced open thigh is nasty, I have seen this pic a few times and it looks like a scene out of Hostel, it never gets easier it look at. In terms of damage to a career Van Basten's ankle problem(s) ended the career of a player that could have been among the 5 best European players to ever touch a ball. Del Piero's knee injury also destroyed his chances of being an all time great. Last of all Ronaldo's two knee blowouts runied him his claim to being best player of his generation and also the potential to surpass Pele and/or Maradona as the best player ever. Look on www.Break.com (no pun intended) they have tons of viral type videos and there is the one of Kickboxer breaking his leg while kicking an opponent, which is really bad and also a Pro Wrestler named Sid Vicious that does a Cisse type break coming off the top rope. The knee high patent leather wrestling boots add to the "folding up" of the leg effect.
Seriously, going through this thread makes me feel like I don't want to touch the ball ever again. Sick stuff.
As i learnt from my broken femur---- shit happens and theres nothing you can do about it. im about to go into surgery on mondy to get the pins taken out so wish me luck. sport=sport sport=fun sport=injuries. it happens. i feel sorry for that busst dude, he dived for the goal but his leg didnt agree. it can happen at any time in anyplace in anywhere.
To share a couple of personal stories: My first game as a pro (minor league, indoor). It's the inaugural game for this team, small venue, about 2,000 present, mostly kids 14 and under. My teammate and an opponent go in strong for a 50-50 ball, about knee-level. There's no doubt that what happened next was unintentional. The opponent is there just an instant before my teammate, whose lower leg wraps itself around the opposite's calf. The leg just...explodes. Double compound fracture, the bottom part his tibia is protruding through his sock. He doesn't even scream, it's more of a whimper, and he goes almost immediately into convulsions. Players from both teams are crying, the crowd is dead silent. If our goalkeeper coach wasn't a doctor I think the kid might have died there. Worst thing I've ever witnessed. The second worst was six years earlier, watching my own upper leg rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise over my lower leg, while the leg backwards about 40 degrees over the knee. Obliterated what was left of an already damaged ACL (unknown at the time), took out the MCL, sheared off the top front of my tibia, pulverized the first 1/3 of the medial meniscus and spun the remainder off the bone (my surgeon told me post-op that he pulled the main fragment out without need of instruments). I was at a camp run by Hank Steinbrecher at the time. One of the coaches was Gregg Meyer(sp), then coach of the Naval Academy and, I believe, also a certified trainer. He told me later that evening that he was at least 50 yards away with his back turned, and knew what he was hearing before the screams. His was the only voice I could hear over the annoying screaming sounds that I shortly after realized were mine. All I can remember hearing at that moment was Meyer as he sprinted over, yelling "Don't F***ing MOVE!!!". As if.
well... all injuries are a pain in the ass... i broke my femur, tibia and peron... my tibia was worst than david busst but mine was in a car accident... i believe the worst injuries are busst´s, larsson´s... those type of injuries cause you need a lot of rehab and it´s really difficult to be 100% in shape.........yet i also agree...game is game, i love the game...with injuries and all!
I watched Larrson's horrfic break and can't quite understand how it happened. The other player seemed to just clip his lower leg and it snapped like a twig while it was still in the air.
It was similar to both of Cisse's break. While runing in stride he was nicked and put off stride and his studs got stuck in the turf. Once the studs stick and your still moving your at the mercy of your own body weight, speed of movement and weight. Most leg breaks in soccer are caused by a displacement of weight while running, landing from a jump and so on. Your legs and feet absorb at least twice your body weight in force when making high impact with the ground so if you are running full stride or jumping and you land off balence that is almost sure to cause an injury. For example I am about 190lbs if I were to land funny then that is 380lbs of force landing the wrong way on a part of the body that really is about 30-40lbs. Add studs catching the turf and holding you in on spot while that impact and force moves the rest of you in another direction and you have a Larsson style break in the making.
Thanks for the explanation Jc. It's hard to beleive that he actually came back from such a serious injury. Also, it seems a lot of these kinds of injuries are caused, or at least contributed to, by the soft ground studs that give you excellent traction, but also prevent you from sliding when it just might save you from such horrific breaks. Cole's hyperextension of the knee immediately comes to mind; his heel just got stuck in the grass as the rest of his body was still going. I almost tore my knee ligaments when tried to play in my FG cleats on astroturf. I tried to move ball back and my foot just got stuck in the surface. I was convinced I had damaged something in the knee as the pain was exruciating. Miraculously, I walked it off and surely never wore cleats on astroturf ever again.