Palace defender set to miss six months
Leg and facial operations after horror crash on M4
THE footballer Premiership airlifted to hospital following the M4 horror crash has undergone operations to leg and facial injuries.
Crystal Palace defender Pape Souare broke his thigh and jaw on the twocar collision near Cranford on Sunday September 11.
Surgeons have now operated on both injuries, with his manager Alan Pardew revealing on Friday September 16 he expected the 26-year-old Senegalese full back to miss the next six months of the season.
The accident happened just after midday between Hayes and the Heathrow Spur (junctions three and four). He was cut free by firefighters before being taken to Royal London Hospital by the London Air Ambulance.
The driver of the other car did not require hospital treatment.
Despite the injuries, Pardew expects to see his full back back playing for the Eagles before the end of the season.
He said: “We think he will make a full recovery. I do not think we have any concerns that he won’t play at the highest level again.
“It was a broken thigh. They have pinned that with a big rod through that bone. That should repair as normal, and stronger than anyone else once it is finished.
“We think four, five or six months he should be up and running again training. He could play again this season.”
Speaking on Tuesday September 13, Palace chairman Steve Parish said: “Pape Souare has this morning undergone surgery on both his jaw and thigh.
“Thanks to the fantastic response of the emergency services who cut him from the car and the amazing surgeons, doctors and staff at the Royal London Hospital he is expected to make a full recovery and should be discharged on Friday.”
The accident brought traffic to a standstill on the day, and disruptions continued on the M4 into the morning on Monday September 12, between junctions three and six, with one lane closed near junction three at Hayes.
The Highways Agency said the disruption was due to ongoing barrier repair work and to a further crash that morning between junctions five and four B near Slough.