2023-12-24 20:51:12
Bad luck can strike at any time. Stairs, arachnids, incongruous falls… Everything is a source of distrust. To the great dismay of a few unfortunate athletes, victims of improbable injuries in 2023. The latest is none other than a French NBA star: Victor Wembanyama, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, before the Spurs match in Dallas.
The ball boy’s foot
It was therefore in the lead-up to the match against the Texan team that Victor Wembanyama was recently injured. In addition to witnessing his team’s defeat (144-119), he did not take part in the match. The 19-year-old stepped on a ball boy’s foot during warm-ups and twisted his right ankle. A grotesque scene for his trainer, Gregg Popovich: “I’ve never seen that. You see the video, you don’t believe it. »
But the choice not to play Victor Wembanyama was mainly a precautionary measure, since he had already suffered from pain in the same ankle earlier in the week. “If it had been a playoff match, I probably would have lined up,” said the coach. I preferred to be careful. He wasn’t very happy not to play. »
The tackle on the coach
During the day on Saturday, the Greek footballer Kóstas Tsimíkas for his part broke his collarbone in an unusual way. During the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Arsenal (1-1), the Reds player was injured by Jürgen Klopp, his own coach. During a shoulder duel with Bukayo Saka, the left-back mowed down the German coach who fell on him.
The consequence is far from trivial, since the defender should be absent for six weeks while the incumbent in his position, Andy Robertson, is also unavailable. Helpless, Jürgen Klopp could do little to avoid his player. However, he would have liked to help him: “I would gladly give my collarbone if it would help Kóstas to be fit again. »
The fall down the stairs
Falls are not necessarily on the ground. David Cherry had the bitter experience of this during the Rugby World Cup. The Scottish hooker suffered a concussion after falling down hotel stairs. This injury forced him to leave the selection after his team’s first group match, against South Africa (18-3 defeat for the Scots).
The Edinburgh player did not hide his disappointment in a press release published by his federation: “I am extremely disappointed to leave the team with a concussion. I loved my time at camp this summer and am happy to have been able to honor my first World Cup selection. » His club partner Stuart McInally then replaced him for the rest of the competition.
The Aix-les-Bains spider
The hotels were definitely not all so welcoming during this Rugby World Cup. In Aix-les-Bains, Johan Retief, of the XV of Namibia, was bitten on the chest by a spider. His injury became infected and deprived him of his team’s last group match, against Uruguay (36-26 defeat by Namibia).
Chrysander Botha, coach of the Namibian three-quarters, could only curse fate after this episode. “This is something we couldn’t have predicted. Johan is very unlucky and we are disappointed, because he is a player who means a lot to us since he can play number 4 (second row) and in the third row. » The 28-year-old was missed all the more by his team as he was the captain of the African team.
The shower blow
Still in the hotel register, tennis player Beatriz Haddad Maia also experienced setbacks last September. While she was scheduled to face Danielle Collins in the first round of the WTA 1,000 in Guadalajara (Mexico), the Brazilian was injured while getting out of the shower.
???? Beatriz Haddad Maia declares FORFEIT for the WTA 1000 in Guadalajara this week. ❌️????????
When he got out of his shower at the hotel, the door broke, causing cuts to his hand. ????
The Brazilian had to go to the hospital to get stitches. pic.twitter.com/tgfhy6jb7a
— Univers Tennis ???? (@UniversTennis) September 18, 2023
The cabin’s glass door exploded when World No. 11 opened it. Result: cuts in several places on the body, including the hands. “Apart from the fear, I’m fine,” reassured the player on social networks. One more line on the list of the most… stupid or surprising injuries.
#Basketball #rugby #tennis #football #improbable #injuries #year