A Dublin League of Ireland legend who waited nearly four hours on the pitch for an ambulance after his leg broke in five places yesterday fumed: “This country is a disgrace.”
David Scully, 37, who had successful spells with Bohemian FC, Finn Harps and Bray Wanderers, was left in agony by the “freak accident”. And after he reached hospital he spent the night in a corridor as he waited for an operation on the injured leg.
David, who was playing as centre-half for Dublin club Montpelier FC fainted a number of times while waiting on the ambulance before he was brought to Tallaght Hospital on Sunday night. He had been involved in a league game against Greenhills Greenpark FC in south Dublin when he suffered the horrific injury. The match was abandoned in the 65th minute following the incident.
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Speaking from his hospital bed, David told Dublin Live: “This country is an absolute disgrace. I was lying in agony on the pitch for four hours. I was making a tackle. It was just a freak accident. My foot got to the ball but it got caught in the grass and my body went over and it just snapped my entire leg. After it happened, I was waiting four hours on the pitch.
“There was not even access on to the pitch so I had to be carried out over a fence. The fire brigade and ambulance had to carry me over a fence on a stretcher.
“It’s mental. The country is a disgrace. I was four hours waiting in the grass. The pain was unbearable. Imagine having five bones broken in your leg and not being able to move.”
Doctors told construction worker David he would not be fit to work for up to a year. But he said: “I’m not worried about going back to work yet I just want to make sure I can walk again. But I am a bit stressed, I have a young child, a wife and a mortgage to pay.”
But the injury to his leg will mean David will have to hang up his football boots for good. He said: “I’ve been playing football for years. Ever since I was a kid I’ve played and it’s really sad things have had to end like this.”
The soccer star, who has raised thousands of euros for various charities and set up a soccer academy for children in Cabra, was left in a corridor in Tallaght Hospital overnight on Sunday. He was operated on Monday and a metal bar was inserted to help his recovery.
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A GoFundMe to help with David’s recovery was set up by his close pal Darren Hennessy. He said: “We would like to raise some funds to help David and his wife and his young kid survive the months ahead with their mortgage and bills as David continues his rehabilitation.”
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