GRAPHIC IMAGES: Rugby player's horrific injury forced doctor to slice open leg to save it
AN international rugby player suffered a horrific leg injury after being stamped on in a ruck.
**WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES**
Ceri Davies had his leg injured by studded boots during a match
Ceri Davies, 25, was playing in his team's first game of the season when rival players tore his right leg open with their studded boots.
The hooker was trapped underneath teammates in an offside position, which allowed the opposition to legally stamp on him to release the ball.
Mr Davies, who plays for Wales' international deaf team, said: “I was in a ruck and got stamped on right at the end of the game.
Mr Davies suffered the injury in a ruck towards the end of the game
“I was in an offside position but I was trapped and couldn't move. They were stamping and stamping.
I felt some pain in my leg and I limped off to the shower
“I felt some pain in my leg and I limped off to the shower. It was when I was in the clubhouse afterwards and I didn't want any food and I felt pain again, that I knew it was quite nasty.”
The Llandovery RFC player soon realised something was seriously wrong when his leg began to swell and bruise heavily.
The leg had to be cut open to release tension and stop internal bleeding
He drove himself to A&E at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, west Wales, where he immediately passed out.
Doctors discovered he had developed Compartment Syndrome, which causes pressure inside a limb, and were forced to slice open his right leg to relieve pressure and prevent internal bleeding.
Medics will now try to rebuild his leg at Morriston Hospital in Swansea with a skin cast and plastic surgery.
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A calm Mr Davies claimed he was taking it all in his stride, saying: “It's nothing really. But with all the messages I've been sent, I feel a bit overwhelmed.”
Llandovery RFC President, Handel Davies, said: “It came as a shock to everybody but we all wish him well. It's not an injury I've ever seen before but obviously we wish him all the best.”
Mr Davies said he hoped to be released from hospital on the weekend after his second operation.