Taiwo Awoniyi remains in hospital after suffering from a horrendous injury and former Premier League star Shay Given sympathises with the Nottingham Forest forward after suffering from a similar problem
Former Newcastle keeper Shay Given has revealed he suffered flashbacks after hearing that Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi has been placed in an induced coma after suffering a life-threatening abdominal injury.
Given had to undergo emergency surgery to repair a torn bowel after a sickening challenge with West Ham ’s Marlon Harewood in 2006 left him with the kind of damage that a doctor told him is usually only inflicted in a car-crash.
The Republic of Ireland international, who now works as a TV pundit and media expert, wanted to reach out to Awoniyi as the Nigerian forward recovers in intensive care after an operation following a collision with a goalpost during the 2-2 draw with Leicester on Sunday.
Given said: “When I heard how Awoniyi’s condition deteriorated I started having flashbacks because it sounds like a very similar injury to the one I suffered. I just want to reach out because there is nothing more painful than what he’s going through.
“The specialist who operated on me said the only time he had seen an injury like it was after a car crash. He said it happens when you smash into something at high speed and your ribs hit the steering wheel.
READ MORE: Nottingham Forest star Taiwo Awoniyi in induced coma and receiving intensive careREAD MORE: Nottingham Forest release furious Evangelos Marinakis statement after Nuno controversy
“Of course, I don’t know the full details of Taiwo’s injury but it sounds very similar in terms of it being a result of a heavy impact. I’d just like to send my best wishes to him. I just hope he gets the same outcome that I did. It took me three or four months to recover although I still have a big scar on my stomach as a permanent reminder, it could have been a lot, lot worse.”
Given went on to play until the age of 42, leaving Newcastle after 12 years at St James’ Park before moving to Manchester City, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Stoke during a career that realised 134 international caps.
It was in the last few minutes of a game at Upton Park that he suffered the worst injury of his life when he challenged Harewood for a loose ball.
Given recalled: “It was a 50-50 challenge and Harewood came smashing into me. The ball was there to be won. There was absolutely no blame attached to him. I just thought I had been badly winded but, unlike Taiwo, I couldn’t carry on.
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“After taking a shower, I started getting these agonising stabbing pains – and I quite literally passed out. My body just shut down.
“The ambulance had left Upton Park because I think they had been given a message that I was okay. Of course, the traffic was really bad when they were instructed to return to the ground and it took them 45 minutes to get to me.
“I was now on morphine to control the pain and when the doctors put a camera inside my stomach to assess the damage they decided to operate immediately.
“They actually took my bowel out to repair it before sticking it back in. When I woke up the next morning there were tubes everywhere.”
Awoniyi was injured after play had been allowed to continue despite Forest winger Anthony Elanga being in an offside position. He tried to continue because manager Nuno Espirito Santo had used all of his substitutes but was eventually forced off.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis came onto the pitch at the end and appeared to remonstrate with Nuno. But the club stressed he there was no confrontation and he was there out of concern for the player and in a statement said: “His deep frustration at seeing our player lying on the ground in severe pain – something no one with genuine care could ignore – triggered him to go onto the pitch.”
Given insists Forest’s medical staff have nothing to reproach themselves about. He said: “Looking back, I was lucky I started feeling bad straight after the game. It looks like Awoniyi’s injury started to really cause problems 24 hours later.
“We were due to fly back to Newcastle and the doctor told me that if I had got on the flight then I could have been in very serious trouble. I don’t think you can blame Nottingham Forest’s medical team. If a player says he’s okay to carry on then you have to believe him because heavy collisions are just a part of the game. There was no way they could have been aware of how bad it was.”
Shay Given is a brand ambassador for sports betting platform CopyBet. Visit CopyBet.com
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