Remembering some of sports’ toughest luck injuries

Sports can take a supreme physical toll, as bumps and bruises in many games over many years add up. However, injuries can also occur out of the blue, due to an accident or plain old bad luck. We’ll take a stroll down memory lane (safely) as we recall some of the weirdest injuries in sports history.

The San Francisco 49ers needed contributions from all of their defensive players to limit Patrick Mahomes during Super Bowl LVIII. Unfortunately, they lost one of their most important contributors to injury in a bizarre manner. Linebacker Dre Greenlaw tore his Achilles during the game by simply running out on to the field. Who knows what may have happened had Greenlaw stayed healthy.

As allergy sufferers are particularly aware, heavy sneezing can be a painful experience that involves more than just your head. In 2004, Chicago Cubs home run hitter Sammy Sosa missed time after consecutive sneezes prompted back spasms, according to ESPN. He was placed on the disabled list, which put him out of action for a couple of weeks.

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The World Baseball Classic has its supports and detractors, as Forbes has dissected. However, it has been successful at manufacturing national enthusiasm for the participating countries. Unfortunately, that passion turned into despair for Edwin Diaz in 2023, who tore his ACL jumping up and down after his Puerto Rico squad defeated the Dominican Republic.

Getting up close and personal with man’s best friend brings happiness, but it brought Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon an injury that forced him to miss games during the 2023-2024 NBA season. On Christmas in 2023, Gordon’s rottweiler bit his hand. Gordon told The Denver Post that he himself probably had too much eggnog, and was playfully wrestling with the dog.

NFL players are not thrilled when a penalty flag costs their team 15 yards. Orlando Brown actually sued the league over a penalty related matter that changed the course of his career in 1999. Referee Jeff Triplette’s tossed flag struck Brown in the eye, which partially blinded his right eye. He missed three seasons as a result, and sued the NFL for $200 million, according to The New York Times.

NFL fans love seeing players celebrate touchdowns, but one player took it a little too far. Washington quarterback Gus Frerotte headbutted the wall behind the endzone after a rushing score in 1997. In the midst of his jubilation, he sprained his neck according to SB Nation, which forced him to leave the game early to head (pun intended) to the hospital.

Being happily wedded to the partner of your dreams is a wonderful thing, except when the ring causes a gruesome injury on the soccer pitch. That’s what happened to Paulo Diogo in 2004. He had most of his finger ripped off when his ring got caught in a barrier after celebrating a Servette goal. The Guardian reported that his finger was not able to be reattached.

Golfers hope to remain competitive for all four rounds during a Grand Slam, and sometimes luck plays a part. Cruickshank was fortunate to have a shot on the 11^th hole of the 1934 U.S. Open ricochet back to the green. However, his fortune ran out when he tossed his club in the air to celebrate. Golf Care UK details that the club hit him in the head, and that he required stitches to close the wound.

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The best soccer goalies in the world are used to using their hands and feet to keep shots out of the net, but those skills didn’t help Dave Beasant in the kitchen in the 1993-1994 campaign. According to The Sun, he tried to control a falling bottle of salad dressing with his foot, but the impact caused him to tear a tendon in his toe. Beasant would be sidelined for two months of action.

It’s hard to control yourself when a stack of freshly made pancakes is put in front of you. Dustin Penner was in this very position back in 2012, when the Los Angeles Kings hockey player was ready to devour his breakfast. However, his back tightened up as he sat down to eat. Bleacher Report details that his wife had to help him get dressed after the freak incident.

Bleacher Report and most of the baseball community reveres Rivera as the best closer of all-time. Arm injuries for pitchers are commonplace, but knee injuries to the extent Rivera suffered in 2012 aren’t prevalent for hurlers. The New York Yankees great tore his ACL when he took a bad step shagging fly balls in the outfield before a game.

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When nature calls, we’re at its mercy. After a Manchester United victory, Fletcher needed to use the facilities, but what happened next was anything but routine. According to the Daily Record, Fletcher got his head bashed by a loose toilet door in 2008. As players and coaches made their postgame media rounds, Fletcher was being tended to by team doctors.

Players tend to be pretty relaxed in All-Star game settings, but the American League clubhouse may have been a bit too loosey-goosey in 1996. While posing for pictures, Chicago White Sox closer Roberto Hernandez lost his balance standing on a podium, and flung his arm back as he fell. Hernandez’s flailing arm left Ripken with a broken nose, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Viewers of “The Last Dance” know that Michael Jordan loved his cigars. Unfortunately for him, he severed a tendon on his index finger during a 1998 vacation to the Bahamas using a cigar slicer. NBC Sports Chicago wonders whether this incident contributed to his decision to sit out the 1999 NBA season.

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Lionel Simmons played seven years in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings, but his claim to fame was an injury that kept him off the floor. In 1991, the forward had to miss two games due to wrist and forearm tendinitis. Sports Illustrated reported that Simmons was playing too much Nintendo Game Boy for several days, which caused the ailment to flare up.