effenell.
I'm shattered for him. Lets hope he can make it back. Hope it doesn't leave too many mental scars around the club.
Some prior cases below. These are soccer players and it is difficult to know how much harder it would be in a sport where the grounds are harder and there is a greater risk of severe physical contact. I would guess it is 50/50 for him to come back as an elite footballer.
David Busst (Coventry City) - Pic Above
Everyone remembers the horror picture with Peter Schmeichel, the Manchester United goalkeeper, turning a whiter shade of pale at the sight of Busst’s terrible injury at Old Trafford. He made 48 appearances for Coventry City, two as substitute, between 1992 and 1996, scoring four league goals. Never played again.
Henrik Larsson
From the BBC, 1999. FTR Larsson went on and played another 4 seasons and became a club legend with Celtic and then moved to Barcelona.
The horrific leg injury suffered by Celtic striker Henrik Larsson should not affect his future playing career, his club have confirmed.
John Barnes: "It's a bad injury, but at least it's not as bad as it looked"
The Swedish international, who broke his leg 11 minutes into the Glasgow side's Uefa cup defeat in France, is due to undergo surgery on Saturday to repair the damage.
Manager John Barnes said after the game with Lyon that the disappointing 1-0 loss was overshadowed by the player's injury.
"It was a sickening moment, it really put a dampener on the whole of the night - regardless of the score," said Barnes.
Alison Walker reports: "The injury to Larsson has overshadowed the result"
He confirmed that Larsson would miss the rest of the season but he added that the injury should not pose a long-term problem.
"Henrik will be operated on and we will see what the state of play is after that. I expect him to be playing again in the not too distant future.
"It is a fairly standard operation, we don't anticipate any long-term damage and I am sure he will come back in the course of time," said Barnes.
"What you saw was Henrik's shinpad," Barnes said. "I also thought it was disfigurement of the leg, but in fact it was his shinpad which had slipped to one side.
"So while it is bad, it looked worse than it was."
The club hope that if the striker's recovery goes to plan he will be back on the pitch for the start of next season.
Larsson was stretchered off in agony after he attempted to challenge Lyon's Serge Blanc.
His left leg was limp at the base, and the concern among his fellow players was immediately obvious.
After the match it was revealed to be a double fracture, reminiscent of the career-ending injury suffered by Coventry's David Busst in 1996.
Paul Elliot: "I am sure Henrik will be determined to get back to full health"
Former Celtic defender Paul Elliot, whose career was brought to an end after he suffered severe ligament damage of the left knee, had words of encouragement for Larsson.
He said: "Fifteen year ago a bad leg injury would have seen the end of a career.
"But things have improved - surgery techniques have got better, training facilities have got better and the quality of the surgery which is carried out has got better.
"If Henrik has the self-belief there is no reason why he can't recover fully."
The Swede has been a revelation since joining Celtic from Feyenoord two years ago for just £600,000.
Saturday's 7-0 win over Aberdeen saw him pass 50 league goals for the club, while there have been rumours of £10m bids for the dreadlocked striker.
There was a four minute delay while Larsson was treated on the pitch and stretchered away to be replaced by Mark Burchill as the match struggled to regain its early momentum.
It is now expected that Burchill will become the first team replacement while Larsson recovers
Djibril Cisse - 2004
Is playing again and time well tell.
Luc Nilis - double fracture in 1999. Tried for a year, but never played again.
