A rugby league player suffered a freak injury which saw his leg collapse during an innocuous tackle, leaving television viewers wanting to look away. Aaron Booth was carried from the field after the leg dislocation happened while playing for Gold Coast Titans in Australia's National Rugby League.
Booth was planting his foot in the turf ready for the impact of a tackle when his tibia dislocated and popped back in. The 26-year-old had been hoping for a big performance against former club Melbourne Storm, but instead suffered the season-ending injury.
NRL Physio tweeted: "Nasty left knee injury for Aaron Booth, contact caused knee to collapse in significantly. Brings concern for stretching/tearing of medial knee structures (MCL) & possibility of fracture due to contact. Damage to ACL can’t be ruled out considering amount of medial force."
The night was made worse for Booth whose former side Melbourne Storm went on to beat the Titans 32-14. After the match Titans coach Justin Holbrook was emotional in the post-game press conference after watching the sickening injury happen.
He said: "I feel for Boothy. He‘s fought really hard to get his shot this year and it’s going to be really nasty for him unfortunately. It‘s really bad for him.”
Lara Pitt, sports journalist for Fox News tweeted: "Just spoke to a devastated Aaron Booth- said he felt tibia dislocate and pop back in on field. X-ray tonight revealed small break, and with zero stability he expects MRI tomorrow to show rupture of ACL, MCL & PCL. Awful!"
Booth moved to the Gold Coast Titans ahead of the 2022 season having previously represented Melbourne Storm.
