The professional playing career of golf legend Tiger Woods was suddenly put in peril after he suffered major leg injuries due to his involvement in a car crash near Los Angeles over the past week. However, it isn't the first time that the sports world has witnessed a professional athlete be dealt with such gruesome injuries.
Washington Football Team quarterback Alex Smith is a prime example as he previously sustained a horrific leg injury back in 2018 which forced him to undergo multiple surgeries. Amid the situation, a former NFL head athletic trainer in Mike Ryan who now serves as NBC’s sports medicine analyst spoke to Pro Football Talk to compare Wood's situation to that of Smith's.
“This is in my opinion worse than Alex Smith’s. Tiger suffered a ‘crush’ injury, not the kind of twisting injury with force Smith suffered. Smith had a compound fracture of his lower tibia and fibula, just above the ankle. Woods has compound multiple open fractures of both the upper shin and the lower shin, with the skin broken, plus foot and ankle fractures as well. From an orthopedic review, Tiger’s is a far more complicated scenario.”
After the incident, the public remained curious as to whether or not they will get to see the golfing legend back in action once again in the near future.
“Pro golf, in a competitive manner? I’d say no. Will he get back and play golf again? Yes, if he wants to. He will give himself his best chance to play. The question will be, at what level will he be able to play? Down the road, the optimistic athletic trainer and physical therapy side of me says we’ll see an epic Tiger return to the golf course. The realistic side of me? I just don’t know.”
Needless to say, no man would ever want anyone, even his competitors, to be put in a situation that could possibly end their playing career for good. However, there is still a window open for Woods to get back to his feet, similar to how Alex Smith successfully overcame the odds en route to being named as the 2020 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Despite the horrific news, there are still positives to be gained from the situation as Tiger Woods is continuing to make strides in his recovery as reported on his Twitter account.
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