I can’t feel my legs
I’m a regular visitor to Football365.com , but the Great Friday Quiz had never caught my interest until this week. Well, it was last week’s quiz if you want to get technical, but it just goes to show you how I’ve skipped it for all this time. So what made this edition special? The editors thought they’d be cute and make injuries as the theme for this week’s installment. If you watched the recent FA Cup match between Liverpool and Manchester United, then you would’ve seen Alan Smith getting horribly injured, breaking his left leg and dislocating his ankle. In the words of the man himself, "When I looked, the leg was lying one way and my ankle was pointing towards Hong Kong so I knew I was in serious trouble." That, my friends, is an understatement. Fortunately, his operation was a success, and he should be able to return in nine months.
Though to be honest, I wasn’t as shaken up about it when they showed the replays, as compared to when Djibril Cisse broke his leg last year. Maybe it was just the camera angles for Smith’s replays that didn’t convey how bad it was, where you could get an idea of the severity from Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s reaction as he looked away in horror. Cisse, on the other hand…living in the age we are in, you’d think we’d be desensitised to all forms of injury and gore. So far I’ve been fortunate to not have to witness anything traumatic in person, but just looking at Cisse’s lower left leg bend like it was rubber in slow motion was just too much. I still cringe when I think of it.
Speaking of cringing, the quiz quotes MU’s manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, calling Smith’s injury one of the worst he’d ever seen, then it goes on to mention another injury from a few years back that was so severe it drove MU’s keeper at the time, Peter Schmeichel, into therapy. He was the unfortunately, appropriately-named David Busst of Coventry City, whose injury meant that he had to end his footballing career. I had no idea who he was, so being the inquisitive soul that I am, with a PC and an Internet connection to boot, I felt compelled to Google him.
I found what I needed to know. And much more than I really wanted. Pictures, anyone? Click here. Be warned: this is most definitely not for the squeamish. When I opened that page, I wasn’t expecting any pictures. I was in a slight panic when the photo at the top of the page was in the process of loading, so I quickly scrolled down to read the article text. But like those horror movies that make you cover your eyes but end up peeking from between your fingers anyway, I eventually scrolled slowly upward again.
That was two hours ago. My legs still feel numb. I don’t think I can see that picture again. It’s a good thing I didn’t get into med school.
