MATTHEW HAYDEN BREAKS HIS BACK SURFING
INJURES HEAD, NECK AND BACK, TWEETS HE ‘DODGED A BULLET’
SYDNEY: Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden said he had “dodged a bullet” after suffering head and neck injuries, including a spine fracture, while surfing during a holiday in Queensland.
Hayden fractured his spine near the base of his neck, tore several ligaments and hurt his forehead after being dumped into a sandbank while surfing with his son Josh off North Stradbroke Island on Friday.
“Fractured C6, torn C5, C4 ligaments, safe to say I truly have dodged a bullet,” Hayden wrote in an Instagram post beside a photo of his battered face.
“Thank you everyone. On the road to recovery.” The 46-year-old told Brisbane’s Courier Mail he was “bloody lucky” to escape serious injury. “It was an hour into the session and we had had half dozen waves together and I got this one right handed wave which I sort of ducked under and that is pretty much all I can remember,” he said. “I wasn’t knocked out. I was speared into the top of the sandbank onto the top of my head. Then it twisted my head with my own weight and the weight of the wave.
“I heard this God almighty click in my neck. I did not get knocked out but I sort of came to and rolled up on my back.” Hayden said he was able to get back onto the beach, but had scans later that day, which revealed his injuries.
Hayden retired in 2009 after scoring 8625 runs with 30 centuries from 103 Tests at an average of 50.73.