Trigger warning: Violent, gruesome and screamish imagery
Tyler Walker
Our latest victim to sports injury fame is Coventry City player, Tyler Walker, who transferred from Nottingham Forest in 2020.
Just this month, Tyler was involved in a horrifying injury scare when Burnley player, Jordan Beyer fouled him on the pitch. This led to a painful torn anterior cruciate ligament for Tyler, and a dreaded yellow card for Jordan. Despite Tyler teared his main ligament which stabilises the knee, miraculously it didn’t rupture! Now, that would have required surgery and a 9-month recovery period!
City manager, Mark Robins quoted, “…It’s not great but it’s miles better than it could have been, and thankfully he’s only going to be out for a week or two”.
Hopefully, Tyler will be back on the pitch very soon!
Marcin Wasilewski
Next up is former professional footballer, Marcin Wasilewski, best known for winning the Premier League with Leicester City FC.
On 31st August 2009, Marcin was playing Standard Liege, when player Axel Witsel stomped on his leg during a tackle, shattering it in half. Ouch!
Marcin suffered a terrifying fracture to both his tibia and fibula and underwent temporary corrective surgery the same day. Enduring a long rehabilitation, he returned to the league in May 2010.
But what happened to Axel? After an appeal to the Belgian Football Association, his punishment got reduced from 10 matches of suspension, to 8. His fine was cut from £2,500 euros down to just £250 euros, saving him a pretty penny!
Allan Ray
Allan Ray was a former professional basketball player with an eye-watering injury who played for Villanova Basketball team at his college.
During a match against the University of Pittsburgh, a player was trying to get the ball from his hand, when it accidentally hit him in the eye! His eyelid went behind his eye, looking like his eyeball was about to pop out, boo! Despite losing his vision temporarily, only soft tissue damage was done.
Phew! He got his full vision back and made a full recovery.
Clint Malarchuk
Now, saving the most petrifying and blood-curdling injury until last!
Clint Malarchuk was a former Canadian ice hockey goaltender who was active between 1981 – 1992, playing for the National Hockey League. The 22nd March 1989 seemed just like a normal ice hockey match…
Until another player’s ice skate made contact with Clint’s neck, slicing his carotid artery and partially slicing his jugular vein. It was a horrific blood bath on ice!
Thankfully, this injury ends a lot better than expected!
Trainer Jim Pizzutelli, a former combat engineer, managed to reach Clint within 14 seconds, applying immense pressure to his wound. Clint ended-up with 300 neck stitches, a 6-inch wound and miraculously was playing against Quebec Nordiques on the rink just 10 days after the accident!
It was found that his neck cut stopped short of the internal carotid artery, as let’s just say, if that would have been brutally severed, he almost certainly wouldn’t have survived.
