Injuries

[nnfox]

Following another one of our top players sustaining a significant injury, I thought it might be interesting to hear about FoxesTalk members and their injuries, sporting or otherwise.  Funny or serious, major or minor!

 

I'll go first with my experience of tearing my ACL.

 

It was over 10 years ago now, but I used to play football at a particularly low standard (but I loved it).  One August bank holiday I took part in a charity match.  Our Sunday League team against our 'vets' team.  It was the first time my fiance had come to watch me play football in 5 years of being together.  I played left back and we conceded a corner in the first 10 minutes.  I stood at the near post.  The ball came in around the 6 yard box and some 50 year old meat head ran in from the edge of the box, brushed a couple of our defenders off and headed the ball perfectly.  I was rooted to the spot and watched the ball sail over my head and into the back of the net.  I looked back just in time to see the meathead and his momentum steaming into me and seem to me and bundling me into the back of the net too! 

 

It was the sound that made me realise something was seriously wrong, rather than the pain (it was sore though).  Sounded like twisting and pulling a chicken leg apart.  Anyway, I hobbled off, spent a couple of days on the sofa.  Went to see the doctor who sent me to A&E for an X Ray as he suspected a broken knee cap(!).  Got there and they put me in for key hole surgery where they confirmed a torn ACL and some other minor injuries.

 

I had to go through 6 months of physio, then an operation to replace the ligament.  In all, I wasn't declared fully fit until the November, so 15-16 months in all.

 

My fiance was most unimpressed.  The injury was sustained 6 weeks before our wedding.  I couldn't get in the wedding car on the big day itself and spent 2 weeks in The Maldives on crutches.

[Izzy]

Many years ago I was a talented 13 year old right winger and clearly destined for greatness 

Playing one lunchtime on the school field and I get tackled by a big lump of a kid who looks down at me on the deck then stamps on my ankle as he runs off. I've never felt pain like it and my ankle swelled up the size of a balloon. The ambulance came and took me to hospital and I was in plaster for what seemed like all summer.

Never the same player afterwards. Coulda been a contender...

[Guest]

When I was about 5 or 6 (I think, anyway) I was playing football in the garden and tried to do the thing Andrei Kanchelskis did at Rangers when he stood on the ball and saluted. Not quite having his level of technique and balance, I fell off and landed on my elbow, which broke. They must not have set it properly and as a consequence it now sticks out at a very unusual angle and crunches when I straighten or bend my arm. If that's the price I have to pay for trying to get the fans out of their seats, so be it.

 

I also have a scar on my knee from smashing it against those horrible wooden seats at Burnley when Vards scored the late winner in 14/15.

[martyn]

Complete ACL rupture and pulled my LCL off the bone playing football back in 2008.

 

Opposition defender booted a long clearance over my head, I was running back towards my goal and decided to try and head the ball back to my goalkeeper after the bounce.

 

I planted my leg to jump and my knee collapsed backwards and outwards simultaneously, and I could feel the ligaments tearing as I fell to the ground.

 

To compound the misery, the fat opposition striker took advantage and ran through to score whilst I was crumpled in a heap.

 

Had the LCL reconstructed first, then had to have my knee completely immobilised bent at 20 degrees in a brace for 6 weeks before my ACL reconstruction. When they took my brace off in hospital prior to the 2nd op, I couldn't hinge the knee at all, was horrible.

 

Lots of rehab and physio, but never recovered to a position to play anything other than social non contact sport at about half intensity and still aches now if I have the knee in 1 position for any length of time. Think that 6 weeks with it immobilised put paid to any chance of recovering well enough to play football again.

Edited 12 February 2021 by martyn

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

I was skateboarding with a friend and a girl who was hanging around with us when I was 14, we'd waxed up a curb on a downhill slope in a car park to try to learn how to grind. I'd tried a couple of times and seemed to be getting the hang of it, so I got cocky and went in as fast I could, leaned back to attempt a 5-0 grind and the board shot out from under me, sending me hurtling through the air. My friend said "are you ok?" as I was laying there and I pushed myself up and said "I think so" - the girl's face instantly turned green and mentioned my arm, and realised it was badly broken. Broken in two places at the wrist, my arm looked like a Tetris piece. No pain whatsoever

 

Walked back to my friend's house, and his mum called my mum to come and pick me up - she'd only told her on the phone that I'd hurt my arm, so mum was quite surprised to see my floppy hand dangling off my arm with 2 joints too many  

 

Annoyingly this was before cameraphones so I've no evidence of the spectacular fail or injury, and the Royal Infirmary lost my x-ray too

 

Learning to wipe my arse with my left hand was a massive chore.

[StanSP]

Been taken to hospital in a neck brace after playing rugby for school. Gave my parents quite the fright... 

 

 

Done ankle ligaments playing football. 

On the same day the following year, did the same ankle ligaments playing football. 

 

Partially torn my ACL. Not pleasant feeling my foot get stuck in the ground, my body going one way and my knee twisting the other. 

 

Then couple years ago I did my achilles playing football. Very weird feeling - you hear the pop and you think someone behind you has shot you. 

[Guest Electric Yetis]

Just football injuries really.

 

Torn right ankle ligament 3 times between age 11-13.

 

Torn right knee ligaments in 2009 followed by left knee in 2010 leaving me with early stages of arthritis in both.

 

Not broken a bone, yet.

[Alf Bentley]

At 48....

 

Got up half-asleep for a slash at 2am, missed my footing on the stairs (bedroom was in loft extension). Lurched sideways to avoid smashing face into banister & put arms down to break fall and protect back, forgetting the concrete ledge.....full-weight impact on upper arm. Knew arm was broken pretty much on impact. At bottom of stairs, arm hanging loose in agony so took hold of it with my other hand - cue a psychedelic moment when brain told me my arm was simultaneously across my chest (as eyes could see) yet hanging loose (as arm nerves were telling me). Went for a hands-free slash (1 arm holding other up to reduce pain), then walked hands-free down main stairs, which were near-vertical as it was an old Victorian terraced house.

 

At LRI they confirmed that I'd snapped my humerus (upper arm bone) clean in half. At first, they thought they'd have to operate to pin it, so did routine tests....after which the nurse asked me "you knew you had a heart murmur, did you?" (news to me!).

In the end, they got the 2 halves of the bone aligned, few weeks in plaster & sling & it fused fine without an op....but checks on the chance discovery of the heart murmur revealed a hereditary heart condition - under treatment for that ever since.

 

At 15....

 

Winter, walking up road & saw a lovely big pile of snow ripe for kicking. Caught it great with a full-pelt kick....only to discover there was a concrete parking bollard under the snow. Hobbled home in agony, feeling a total clown.

Big toe was sore afterwards but didn't think much more about it. A few months later it got sore again due to a growth under the nail & I didn't make the connection. Doctors thought it was some sort of wart & arranged a minor op to remove it. 

 

Lay there for op (local anaesthetic), unable to see toe as they'd put up a rail and sheet to block my view.....but could hear a squeaking noise as the surgeon gouged in my toe & saw my blood squirt up his arm. Remember thinking "this is going to hurt once the anaesthetic wears off". It did - worse than the arm, I'd say. It later emerged they'd been gouging out new bone growth due to a fracture caused by the snow-kick.

 

I remember lying in the hospital bed after the op biting on a rag they'd given me and trying to focus my thoughts on the song on the radio.

To this day, I only have to hear that song - "Sylvia's Mother" by Dr. Hook - and it all comes back to me....

 

[Benguin]

Jumped off a curb on a bmx and turned the handle bars to do what I think was called an “x up” landed poorly and fell off and the fall caused a broken wrist and broken elbow. Terrible pain. 

[Milo]

Broke my left thumb skiing when I was about 14 - had to have a plaster up past my elbow. Was having a kick about in the local park a few weeks later and lay down for a rest with my arms behind my head...and felt/heard a loud thwack as a golf ball embedded itself in the plaster cast.

 

Close call!

 

Plaster stayed on for what seemed like ages, golf ball imprint and all. On the plus side, I managed to create a little groove in it between my thumb and index finger which was perfect for playing snooker - cue rested beautifully on it!    

[Kopic]

Tore my bicep bowling in a cricket match when i was about 13. Was some cup final, I was the opening bowler and it was my first ball. The game before I took 9 for 12 to get to the final. We lost the game.

 

Broke my ankle badly aged 16 whilst pulling a wheelie on my bike. Fell into the middle of a pitch black road and knew something wasn't right. Fortunately a car came pretty soon afterwards and took me home, but hurried me up as they were on their way to bingo. At a&e they said the break was so bad and the talar shift was huge they assumed i fell off a moped. Was on crutches for months. Still the only bone I've broken.

 

Dislocated my shoulder a few years ago by tripping over a sunbed. Its still giving me pain to this day. I've also had tennis elbow for about 5 years.

 

I also got a burst eardrum after scuba diving on holiday. Hapoened during the night afterwards. Still the worst pain I have ever experienced.

Edited 12 February 2021 by Kopic

[Parafox]

Playing in goal for my school in (about) 1970 I got kicked in the face by an opponent and was apparently unconscious for 15 mins and was taken to hospital. I recall the before and the after but not the actual incident. 

In my job I've been to many sports injuries. I've reduced dislocated kneecaps, dealt with open fractures of the tibia/fibula where the bone protrudes through the skin, ankle fractures that also have exposed bone, broken noses and quite worrying neck injuries in school rugby games. Broken bones and cervical spine injuries at cheerleading competitions.

In a quite unrelated incident I went to a motorcyclist who was hit by a car. As I was attending to his broken leg he asked me if he would be able to play decent football. I said it was amazing what orthopaedics could do these days. He came back with "good because I was always shit before". 

[jonthefox]

Dated a lovely girl once. The cow broke my heart. 

[fuchsntf]

11 minutes ago, jonthefox said:

Dated a lovely girl once. The cow broke my heart. 

Dated many a nice & lovely girls,  the whole fking herd broke mine..

Edited 12 February 2021 by fuchsntf

[Danno]

Split my head open once at school when I fell backwards. Didn’t know what was happening and then felt this warm liquid running down my neck. Bit of glue from the hospital and I was fine. 
 

Got randomly attacked once on a night out and they broke my cheek bone and my eye socket. Thought I’d have a proper hard man bruise but only my eye lid had any bruising, looked like I was wearing black eye shadow and that was fvcking all 😂

[Blarmy]

Dislocated my middle finger at the middle knuckle - it was beyond 90 degrees - crashing my bike into a tree. Also had a good look at my shin bone where my pedal exposed it.  I put the finger back immediately but it’s never been quite the same. 

 

Broken collar bone randomly falling over in the street when I was a kid.

 

Broken bone in my foot when I got smashed into the wall by a fat lad playing Uni hockey at school.  The cast was ridiculous- it had a huge metal stirrup on the bottom and I had it on for 6 weeks... 🤣

[UpTheLeagueFox]

8 hours ago, Izzy said:

Many years ago I was a talented 13 year old right winger and clearly destined for greatness 

Playing one lunchtime on the school field and I get tackled by a big lump of a kid who looks down at me on the deck then stamps on my ankle as he runs off. I've never felt pain like it and my ankle swelled up the size of a balloon. The ambulance came and took me to hospital and I was in plaster for what seemed like all summer.

Never the same player afterwards. Coulda been a contender...

As someone who was at school with you, was it me who clobbered you?

No way was that wiry kid at school a talented sportsman 

(A top top lad, and still is, I'll give you that.)

[surrifox]

Several quite nasty injuries from cricket including a broken nose which required surgery . Five different finger breaks/ dislocations all of which were OK after time save for a minor hairline crack on my thumb which since has no flexibility, the nail grows really thick and ridged and the joint has developed painful arthritis . Least significant injury but worst after effects .

[Izzy]

8 hours ago, UpTheLeagueFox said:

As someone who was at school with you, was it me who clobbered you?

No way was that wiry kid at school a talented sportsman 

(A top top lad, and still is, I'll give you that.)

It was my last year at High School mate, the year before I met you at the Grammar.

 

The big lump was a kid called Alex Taylor who is single handedly at fault for ruining my football career.

 

willy puller

[tom27111]

Fell down a concrete flight of stairs in a pub. 

 

I wasn't even p*ssed and had just bought my first pint of the night.

 

Top of the stairs was a bit wet, my feet went from underneath me and I slid down about 25 stairs on my left hand side.

 

Got to the bottom and couldn't move, but somehow didn't spill a drop of my pint!

 

Someone took me home, I went to bed and woke up in the morning in the worst pain I've ever felt. My side, from armpit down to knee was completely black.

 

Went to the hospital and was told I'd broken two ribs.

 

Was given some fantastic drugs for the pain.

 

 

[Mike Oxlong]

Foreskin - Zip - Tears