Duffy, 18, who also plays for Everton FC, was representing his country in a training match against an Irish amateur team when he collided with opposition goalkeeper, Adrian Walsh, and suffered a laceration to his liver. Medics rushed onto the pitch to attend the stricken player and he was then rushed to Mater Hospital in Dublin where he underwent emergency surgery performed by surgeon Gerry McEntee. It is understood that the injury had caused him to suffer massive internal bleeding and that he lost over two thirds of his blood supply.
The Republic of Ireland’s team surgeon Professor O’Byrne praised the hospital’s staff for their expertise and swift actions, which he believed saved the teenagers life, and commented that the young player had “Collided with a player in a way that you would see thousands of times in football matches. It was a freak injury that in another 100 years of medicine, we may never see again.”
It is understood that Mr. Duffy left intensive care the following day and is now making a good recovery; however it could be Christmas before he is fully fit to play again. The player’s father, who was watching the match, told the BBC how he feared for his son’s life, saying “I should have been burying my son as the doctors and professors say they have never heard the like of it. If it wasn’t for the work of the physio, doctors and nurses, Shane would have been dead.”
I’m sure that all football fans will be hoping that Shane makes a full and speedy recovery. That the accident happened just weeks before the World Cup, which serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictability of football, and we will all be praying that the England players manage to come through the tournament unscathed and with the World Cup trophy in tow.
For advice on claiming for compensation in an accident, speak to an expert firm of personal injury lawyers.