A League of Ireland legend who waited nearly four hours on the pitch for an ambulance after his leg broke in five places during a football match fumed: "This country is a disgrace."
David Scully, 37, who had a successful playing career with Bohemians FC, Finn Harps and Bray Wanderers, was left in agony on the pitch following the “freak accident”.
The footballer, who was playing as a centre-half for Montpelier FC, fainted a number of times while waiting on the ambulance before he was brought to Tallaght Hospital on Sunday night.
Read More: Irish woman keeps herself alive for over an hour before being rescued from lake
He was playing a league game against Greenhills Greenpark FC in south Dublin when he suffered the horrific injury. The match was subsequently abandoned in the 65 minute.
Speaking from his hospital bed, David told The Irish Mirror: “This county 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 no even access onto 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.”
He added: “The pain was unbearable. Imagine having five bones broken in your leg and not being able to move.”
Medics told the Irish football legend, who has a construction job, that he could be out of work for up to a year as a result of the injury but David declared: “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.”
Devastatingly David revealed the injury to his leg will mean he 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 really sad things have had to end like this.”
The talented footballer, 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 before he was operated on Monday and a metal bar was inserted to help his recovery.
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.”
Donation's to David's GoFundMe can be made here https://www.gofundme.com/f/david-scully.
READ NEXT:
- Garth Brooks' promoter reveals star's gruelling stage routine ahead of five Croke Park concerts
- Tallaght siblings to be buried together as family asks for prayers for devastated mother
- Irishwoman missing in Portugal as family 'fear the worst' and plead with gardai for help
- Love Island stars a month on - breakups, cheating accusations and the couple proving everyone wrong
- Teacher gives exact time children should go to bed on school nights depending on their age
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
