The beautiful game has had it’s fair-share of ugliness in the past, and Jeremy Menez’s injury was a reminder of how cruel the game can be.
The French forward’s ear was torn by Lorient’s Didier Ndong in his debut match, and this reminded us of how quickly the beautiful game can turn ugly.
10. Eduardo Da Silva
The Arsenal forward suffered from a broken leg and a dislocated ankle after a horrendous tackle by Martin taylor.
Eduardo spent an year on the sidelines.
9. Kieron Dyer
Former West Ham player Kieron was always prone to injuries, but in 2007 he suffered a career threatning injury in a match against Bristol Rovers.
A tackle by Joe Jacobson resulted in Dyer’s leg getting broken in two pieces.
8. Henrik Larsson
Larsson suffered a brutul injury in 1999 when Celtic played Lyon in the UEFA Cup. A rough tackle by Serge Blanc broke Larsson’s leg from two places.
A career threatning injury took Larsson out for eight months.
7. Petr Cech
The Czech international captain suffered a life threatning injury in 2006, when Cech recieved a knee hit on the head by Reading FC player Stephen Hunt. Cech collapsed as soon as he left the pitch and rushed to the Royal Berkshire Hospital to undergo surgery.
Cech returned to the field wearing the famous head guard after three months.
6. Alf Inge Haaland
An injury caused solely for the purpose of revenge by Manchester United captain Roy Keane on city rivals Manchester City player Haaland in 2001. Keane claimed that it was fair on his part as Haaland had caused to him an injury that forced Keane to miss the entire season back in 1997.
Haaland couldn’t play a full match after that and retired two years in 2003.
5. David Busst
Coventry City defender David Busst suffered double fracture on his leg after a collision with Denis Irwin. David’s bone pierced through his skin and his blood had to be cleaned off the pitch.
David’s Career was over and United Keeper Peter Schmeichel required counseling help.
4. Inigo Diaz De Cerio
Former Real Sociedad striker Cerio suffered a very serious injury in 2008 after he collided with SD Eibar goalkeeper Zigor. Cerio fractured his right leg from two places.
Cerio was out for months, but eventually returned to football after a year.
3. Djibril Cisse
Former Liverpool man Cisse broke his leg twice, once against Blackburn when he had his feet got stuck in the grass in 2004, and again two years later in World Cup match between France and China in 2006 after he was tackled by Shandong Luneng.
On both occassions Cisse returned to football in just seven months.
2. Luc Nilis
Nilis was a high-profile striker from the Eredivise side PSV, he signed for Aston Villa in 2000. Nilis was supposed to be a great success in the Premier League scoring on his debut for Villa in Intertoto Cup and the league. Nilis got in a rough collision with Ipswich goalkeeper Richard Wright which caused double fracture on his right leg.
Luc Nilis could never play again and had to announce his retirement.
1. Edgar Andrade
In 2007, Mexican footballer Edgar Andrade suffered a very serious injury. Andrade was playing for Cruz Azul against Tecos UAG, and in attempt to tackle and to recover the ball he twisted his ankle and suffered a major fracture in his leg.
Andrade was out for months after the horrendous injury.
