26 Feb 2008 5:15:00 pm

saddening really.

Is his career over?
Amputation was a possibility

Eduardo suffered a compound fracture of both of the bones in the lower leg - the fibula and the tibia. He could have lost his left foot. Said Tim Allardyce, osteopath and physiotherapist, on BBC Radio Five Live: 'Once the foot dislocates like that, it can badly damage the blood vessels and it's very, very serious. Emergency surgery is completely necessary.'

At this early stage, it is impossible to assess the 25-year-old striker's chances of a full recovery.


Road to recovery

Saturday: Eduardo has surgery. He has a metal plate or pins inserted to hold the bones together.

3 months: He will be on crutches, during which time he must not put any weight on his left leg.

6 months: 'We'd expect a normal person to be out for about six months,' said Allardyce.

9 months? 'With the level of fitness he'll need to get back to, it could be anywhere around the nine-month mark,' added Allardyce.


Walk on or - walk out

1996: Coventry City's David Busst suffered a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula during a match against Manchester United. Retired.

2000: Aston Villa's Luc Nilis, 33 then, suffered a double break of his right leg against Ipswich. Retired.

2004: Djibril Cisse, with Liverpool then, nearly lost his left leg after a freak injury. Back after six months out. Suffered an open fracture of his right tibia before World Cup 2006, but again returned to full fitness.

2006: Alan Smith, then with Manchester United, broke his left leg and dislocated his ankle playing against Liverpool. Back after seven months.
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I will come back, vows Eduardo
But, given the extent of the injury, expert feels a full recovery is not a given
LONDON - ARSENAL striker Eduardo da Silva remembers only one clear detail of the horrific tackle in Saturday's draw with Birmingham which left him with a broken leg.
'I looked down at my foot and it had turned the other way. The rest is just a blank,' he said after emergency surgery on a compound fracture of both bones in his lower left leg.

The 25-year-old Brazil-born Croat now faces a long battle to save his career.

'I know that I won't be able to play for Arsenal for the rest of the season or be ready in time for the Euro 2008 this summer. But I'm not worried about that.

'My concentration and determination is on making as quick a recovery as possible. I am determined to overcome this injury.'

A distraught Martin Taylor, the hulking Birmingham defender who inflicted the damage, visited Eduardo in hospital, but that did not stop him from being the subject of death threats on the Internet.

YouTube was flooded with chilling messages, including one from Babass47, who said: 'Taylor is dead.'

And Grone4ever89 added: 'He should be in prison.'

Over in Croatia, the shock of Eduardo's injury has turned into anger.

'Taylor destroyed the ambitions of a small but great soccer nation to hope for a European title,' an editorial in the Jutarnji List daily said.

In a poll, 41 per cent said Taylor should be banned for life and 25 per cent favoured a long suspension.

But Eduardo refused to blame the Birmingham player, saying: 'It was an unfortunate situation, but these things can happen in football.'

The question is whether the striker can ever bounce back.

Osteopath and physiotherapist Tim Allardyce warned: 'Potentially, the bones will heal but there's all the other damage around the area, such as the ligament damage, the tendon damage, the soft tissue damage, the damage to the joint capsule.

'He's going to have to do an awful lot of work to regain full mobility and strength to the ankle to get him up to the standard of international football. Whether he can do that, I'm not sure.'

Even if Eduardo makes a complete physical recovery, there is the matter of the mind.

'Once you've suffered such a serious injury, you'll always tend to be aware of it,' Allardyce added.

'It will have a big psychological effect, certainly for the next year, maybe for several months after that.'

Arsenal players also have to deal with the trauma of seeing Eduardo's bones pierce through his sock.

Midfielder Mathieu Flamini said: 'It was maybe the worst injury I have seen. It will be difficult to get over.

'But now we want to win the Premier League title for him.'