WARNING: THESE ARE EXTREMELY GRAPHIC PHOTOS. PLEASE PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. DEFINITELY DON’T PROCEED IF YOU ARE EATING RIGHT NOW.
There’s nothing worse than enjoying a Sunday afternoon football game with your friends and family, when suddenly it turns into “Saw VI.” Devastating sports injuries are so difficult to watch because you never want to see something that could end a career and you definitely don’t want to see a bone popping out of someone’s skin. Brace yourself, because here are some of the worst sports injuries you’ve ever seen.
1. Marcus Lattimore
Lattimore was a junior in 2012 when he was hit during a game against Tennessee and had his knee completely dislocated. He ended up recovering in full and now plays for the San Francisco 49ers.
2. Clint Malarchuk
Getting slashed by a skate in hockey is horribly dangerous as is, but in 1989 when Malarchuk got slashed in the neck, it became something much worse. Turns out the skate cut his jugular vein and he nearly died. Believe it or not, he returned to the ice later that season.
3. Paulo Diogo
Diogo scored a goal and jumped up on a fence to celebrate. He was wearing his wedding ring, which got caught in the fence, so when he jumped his body went down, but his finger decided to hang on.
4. Sid Vicious
You can talk about wrestling being fake all you want, but the injury Sid Vicious suffered in 2001 was very real and beyond gruesome. Unfortunately for him, he was never able to recover from it and the injury ended his career.
5. Kevin Ware
During the 2013 Elite Eight, Louisville’s Kevin Ware came down on his leg in the absolute worst way possible and what happened next was one of the most stomach-churning injuries we’ve ever seen. The bone popped out of his skin and … well, you’re here, aren’t you? Might as well look.
6. Patrick Edwards
Of all the injuries, this one is the most troubling because it was the result of negligence. A motorized cart was left parked beside the end zone, and Edwards ended up running into it and fracturing his leg.
7. Marcus Bagwell
In 1992, Rick Steiner was attempting a diving bulldog on Bagwell, but ended up landing wrong and broke multiple vertebrae in Bagwell’s spine. He eventually recovered, but spent quite a bit of time in a wheelchair after the incident.
8. Joe Theismann
In case you’ve ever wonder what happens to your leg when two “Giant” linebackers fall onto it, this photo should do the trick. And it will also make you want to never wonder about it again. The NFL legend was forced into retirement a little early after suffering this brutal leg injury.
9. David Busst
Busst’s injury is one of the worst soccer injuries ever caught on film. His right leg doesn’t just break-it completely shattered into pieces. It’s up to you if you want to go check out the video, but this photo alone makes us shudder.
10. Jessica Dube
You probably don’t consider figure skating a dangerous sport, but don’t tell that to Jessica Dube. Her face was gashed open in 2007 during a routine with her partner Bryce Davidson. The cut required 80 stitches and was definitely the most traumatizing thing a figure skating crowd had ever seen.
11. Renzo Gracie
In a 2000 Pride Fight, Gracie lost a match to Kazushi Sakuraba when the ref stopped the fight after Gracie’s arm bent completely in the opposite direction. That seems like a good reason to end a fight if you ask us.
12. Allan Ray
Most of the injuries on the list involve broken bones, but Allan Ray’s injury from the 2006 Big East tournament took a different direction. A Pittsburgh player was trying to knock the ball from his hand, but his finger poked Ray in the eye and popped his eyeball out of the socket. If you haven’t lost your lunch by now, this should do the trick.
13. Llewellyn Starks
Starks’ horrific compound fracture took place at the 1992 New York games and instantly ended his long jump career. To say it’s gruesome is a complete understatement. This photo is what our nightmares are made of.
14. Anderson Silva
Speaking of gross leg injuries, at UFC 168, Anderson Silva got his rematch against Chris Weidman. Unfortunately for Silva during the second round, he landed a kick on Weidman’s leg so hard that you could hear his shin cracking outside the cage.
