Unfortunately, injuries in the game of football are neither preventable nor controllable. It just happens, particularly when the game is competitive. However, certain football-related injuries are so severe that they might qualify as the worst football injuries of all time.
Everyone has a different point of view, therefore others may not agree with what we have to say. Nevertheless, the cases we present here are among the worst football injuries ever, if not the worst football injuries ever.
10. Neil Taylor
Playing for Swansea City in a match against Sunderland, Neil Taylor went through a horrible leg injury. He collided badly with Sunderland’s Gardner and broke his ankle. Taylor was actually injured while his foot was trapped underneath him as he fell to the ground taking the full weight Gardner on the way down. He held his left ankle in agony after just 15 minutes of the match.
9. Bobby Zamora
In a match against Wolves in 2010, Bobby Zamora broke his ankle after receiving a challenge from captain Karl Henry who insisted that there was no malice in the challenge. “I know Bobby. I’d never go out to hurt anyone, let alone him. I felt it was a good tackle. I just tried to win the ball, but I could see he was in agony straight away and called to their physio,” said Henry later.
8. Aaron Ramsey
In a match against Stoke City in 2010, Aaron Ramsey suffered a double fracture when challenged by Ryan Shawcross in a tackle. Aaron collapsed on contact and was left writhing on the floor, with his right foot appearing to hang at an unnatural angle. Ryan was immediately sent off with a red card.
7. Michael Krohn-Dehli
In a match against Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of their Europa League semifinal, Sevilla’s midfielder Michael Krohn-Dehli suffered a very serious injury to his knee.
After entering the game as a second-half substitute, Krohn-Dehli received the ball in the 70th minute, but upon turning, fell under his own weight before defenders reached him.
6. Manuel Pablo
On 30 September 2001 during the Galician derby against Celta de Vigo, Manuel Pablo suffered a horrific tibia injury after a tackle by Everton’s Giovanella.
The injury came just a few months before 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, a tournament in which he was to play for Spain.
5. Bruno Torres
The worst soccer injuries don’t have to always happen in a standard soccer match! Euro Beach Soccer League, 2012: In match between Portugal and Spain, Cristian Torres attempted an unsuccessful scissor kick on a ball from a corner kick, while Bruno Torres also got tangled up in the action.
4. Preston Burpo
One of the worst soccer injures ever happened to a goalkeeper that might even dwarf that of Petr Cech’s. On May 29, 2010, in the 34th minute of a match against New York Red Bulls, Burpo collided with Dane Richards as both went for the ball at the top of the box, breaking both his tibia and fibula.
3. Federico Mattiello
In a match against Roma in March 2015, Federico Mattiello suffered a horrendous leg injury while tackled by A.S Roma’s star, Radja Nainggolan. The damage sustained left teammates and opponents noticeably disturbed as Mattiello was carried off on a stretcher.
He returned to action on 19 October and appeared in a home match against Genova in which his team lost 3-2.
2. Luke Shaw
Receiving oxygen on the pitch at the Philips Stadion, he was taken on a stretcher from the field to the nearby St Anna Ziekenhuis hospital in Geldrop for surgery. “I was really close to losing my leg but I didn’t know that until six months later when the doctor told me,” said Shaw.
1. Antonio Valencia
In September 2010, in a Champions League tie against Rangers, Antonio Valencia of Manchester United received an ankle injury that kept him out for the rest of the season. He actually received the injury in the 62nd minute when challenged by Ranger’s defender, Kirk Broadfoot.