Sport
Worst injuries in football history
The Premier League title race has been blown wide open courtesy of Jordan Pickford’s woeful “tackle” in the Merseyside derby on Virgil Van Dijk. With their star defender undergoing surgery and therefore likely to be out for the season it got us thinking of other horror injuries. Here we look at five of the worst injuries in football history.
5 of the worst injuries in football history
Number 5. Bert Trautmann
Manchester City’s legendary keeper was on the receiving end of one of football’s most famous injuries. Being well known doesn’t make it any less horrendous though. It was the 1956 FA Cup final and Trautmann rushed off his line to deny Peter Murphy a shot on goal. He achieved it but at a hefty cost with the challenge breaking Trautmann’s neck. Remarkably, the hardy goalkeeper played on to help City lift the cup.
Number 4. Djibril Cisse
Cisse was representing Liverpool when he sustained this injury in 2004 against Blackburn. The pacey French attacker put his burners on to race beyond Rovers left back Jay McEveley who found himself the wrong side as Cisse raced towards the area. McEveley tangled legs with Cisse causing his lower leg to buckle in half. The double fracture occurred in such a way that blood stopped reaching his foot with the player claiming amputation was even discussed.
Number 3. Alf-Inge Haaland
What makes an injury horrific? There are plenty of factors to be considered. In Haaland’s case it was two-fold. Firstly, he barely kicked a ball after the incident and secondly, it was inflicted by a fellow pro with at least some element of intent. Haaland was brutally taken out during a Manchester derby in 2001 by Roy Keane with the United skipper holding a grudge from a prior incident where the then Leeds man screamed over a seriously injured Keane. Keane admitted he wanted to hit Haaland hard but not with the intent to end his career. Haaland actually managed to finish the game but was never the same again. Directly or indirectly, end his career is exactly what Keane did.
Number 2. Iain Hume
If Keane’s tackle on Haaland was bad then the assault that led to Hume’s injury was worthy of prison time. Hume was playing for Barnsley in 2008 as they faced Sheffield United in a Yorkshire derby. The striker had eyes on the ball as he looked to bring a long diagonal pass under control but Chris Morgan swung a violent elbow into the side of his head.
Hume was taken to hospital and with doctors believing he’d suffered a concussion was sent on his way – until he vomited as he went to leave. This prompted scans, which revealed he had a fractured skull. Had he not been sick – and therefore scanned – it’s believed he would have died as a result. Hume now bares an 18 inch scar and missed nearly nine months of football. Morgan got a yellow card.
Number 1. David Busst
Thre is no such thing as a good injury but the nobody can dispute that the one Busst sustained in April 1996 is one of the worst injuries in football history, if not one of the worst sports injuries ever. The Coventry defender had gone forward hoping to make a menace of himself in the Manchester United box from a corner. The ball landed at his feet but he was quickly closed by both Dennis Irwin and Brian McClair. Busst ended up the filling in an eye watering sandwich.
One of his bones fractured in such a terrible way that it pierced through his skin causing blood to pour out over the grass. It was so horrendous that Peter Schmeichel was sick next to his goal. Busst never played again after his bone became infected and caused the player to have a shocking 26 surgeries.
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