Shanghai Shenhua striker Demba Ba, who suffered a potentially career-threatening injury in a Chinese Super League derby game between his side and Shanghai SIPG on Sunday, woke up in the hospital in the aftermath of his horrific injury and the first thing he did was inquire if his team had won the game.
The former West Ham United, Newcastle United and Chelsea striker was involved in a freak incident when in the 63rd minute of the game a harmless challenge from opposition defender Sun Xiang resulted in a horrific leg break of the 31-year-old, who was seen writhing on the floor and was hospitalised subsequently.
Football has witnessed some gruesome injuries over the years, with the most recent and high-profile being the double leg-break suffered by Manchester United defender Luke Shaw, who was ruled out for the remainder of last season after a shocking tackle from Hector Moreno of PSV in a Champions League clash. The injury also brought back memories of the leg-breaks suffered by Arsenal duo of Eduardo and Aaron Ramsey in 2008 and 2010, and of former Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse, who suffered a similar fate in 2004.
Chinese Super League has come into prominence these days because of the exorbitant amount of money that is being used to attract the interest of the footballers, with many star players including Jackson Martinez, Alex Teixeira and Ramires among others joining the fast-emerging league.
Speaking in the aftermath of the incident, Shanghai Shenhua manager Gregorio Manzano has stated that Ba may never play professional football again and the injury is as bad as it looks. Wishes have poured in from all over the globe for the Senegalese and the 31-year-old’s former clubs and teammates like John Terry and Yohan Cabaye have prayed for his quick recovery.
Ba is the top scorer of the Chinese Super League with 14 goals under his belt from 18 games and is also a fan favourite. The 31-year-old has proved with this gesture that footballers do care about the club and its supporters and that it is not always about the money.
