Sports Injury – 10 Infamous & Life Changing Sports Injuries
With the British and Irish Lions defeating Australia away from home, Andy Murray triumphing at Wimbledon and England now playing Oz in the Ashes, we’ve seldom seen a better or more prolific time for British sport and Sports Injuries.
It must be remembered however that not everyone who is destined for success can reach the pinnacle of their career. Whether there are personal reasons or whether it’s through a dramatic sporting injury, many professional sports players’ careers are disappointingly and often brutally cut short. Here are 10 of the most infamous sporting injuries with an example of how extensively it changed their lives.
David ‘Syd’ Lawrence’s Sports Injury – English Fast Bowler
In the early 1990s David Lawrence was one of the most formidable fast bowlers in English cricket. His career was sadly cut short however after painfully and shockingly shattering his left knee-cap after a long run-up, a very serious sports injury.
He retired from test cricket to his home town of Bristol and invested in a small nightclub, Dojo’s
Clint Malurchuk‘s Sports Injury – Ice Hockey
A former professional NHL player, Clint Malurchuk’s career was seriously affected when a fellow skater’s blade sliced through the jugular vein in his neck. He was only minutes from death – his life was saved by the team’s trainer who was once an army medic and had served in Vietnam. It took a total of 300 stitches to close the wound, but amazingly he did return to professional playing, and now helps coach the Calgary Flames.
David Busst‘s Sports Injury – Coventry City Football Player
In one of the worst injuries the football world has ever seen Coventry defender David Busst’s leg break forced him to retire early from the sport and disabled any chance of him returning, such were the complications of his injury. The compound fracture and subsequent muscle damage caused by an infection cut short his career; however he is still in the industry – playing and managing Sunday league football.
Kevin Ware‘s Sports Injury – Basketball
Many experts have called 20 year old Kevin Ware’s leg injury the worse they’ve ever seen on the basketball court. In a packed Indiana Arena earlier this year, Ware’s shin broke and despite bone protruding from his leg, he still calmly managed to tell fellow players to win the game on his behalf. The doctors and surgeons who worked on his injury believe with the right training he could be back playing as early as October.
Luc Nilis‘s Sports Injury – Football
As far as life changing injuries go, this one ranks up there with one of the worst. Luc Nilis was at the time one of the most promising football strikers in the world and a prolific goal scorer – in only his third game playing for Aston Villa he collided with Richard Wright, the goalkeeper for Ipswich which effectively broke his lower leg in two. He never regained full fitness.
Greg Todd‘s Sports Injury – New Zealand Cricket Bowler
In the world of cricket, this injury is just as infamous as Dave Lawrence’s (see above). New Zealander Greg Todd’s ankle snapped in multiple places whilst bowling in a one day match, and although the cricketer returned to form and is now playing for Auckland – it did dispel the myth that the world of cricket was danger and injury free.
Terry Butcher‘s Sports Injury – England Footballer
In 1989, during a 1990 World Cup qualifier, Terry Butcher received a gash on his forehead that required many stitches and generated a lot of blood. Being an important match, he soldiered on with a blood stained shirt and therefore gained notoriety as the equivalent of a football warrior.
Evander Holyfield’s Sports Injury– Boxing
In one of the most infamous pieces of sporting misconduct ever seen, Mike Tyson bit off part of Evander Holyfield’s right ear. This subsequent photo (below) is as famous as the two fighters themselves, and changed the reputation of Mike Tyson and his career for good.
Steve Zakuani‘s Sports Injury – MLS Soccer
Steve Zakuani is a football player in America who could have lost his leg, let alone his sporting career. In a crunching tackle made by Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullen, the Seattle Sounders striker broke his leg in two places and spent many months out of the game. That’s not what makes this injury memorable however – a touching sporting gesture between Mullen and Zakuani after the latter’s comeback match resulted in both players officially closing the door on their misfortune. Watch the video below
Paulo Diogo‘s Sports Injury
There’s no doubting that this injury is life changing, if not rather bizarre. Upon scoring a goal Diogo decided to jump up on to a wire fence surrounding the crowd – only to jump down and leave his wedding finger, and the finger itself, on the fence. Not the best way to celebrate, really.
As this article shows, it’s very easy to trivialise sporting injuries as they are undoubtedly part and parcel of the career which depending on the sport can at times be very dangerous.
The one thing about them however is they are very rarely your fault. They can happen at any level – there is an obligation placed upon organisations to make sure pitches and grounds stay as safe as possible (see our article on injuries at Wimbledon this year)
If you have been injured whilst playing a sport and it isn’t your fault, or you think you have been exposed to unnecessary risk, you may be able to look at sports injury claims as being a viable option.
We can help with your Sports Injury Claim
David Healey at Carter & Carter Solicitors is very experienced in handling Sports Injury Claims as well as accident compensation claims relating to all types of serious injury and is a specialist dealing with accident compensation claims involving fatalities, catastrophic injuries and amputations.
Get in touch now about your Sports Injury Claim
If you think that you have a case, would like to have a chat about a potential Sports Injury claim or require further information, contact David Healey.
Our Free phone number is 0800 652 0586
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