From Guitar Hero to turkey hunting, star athletes suffer freak accidents too

As Rory McIlroy rehabs his ankle, perhaps the only consolation for the world’s No. 1 golfer is he is not the first athlete to be injured while not playing the sport that pays the bills. Here is a look at some others.

GREG LEMOND: LeMond was at the peak of cycling in 1987 after becoming the first American to win the Tour de France the previous year. LeMond didn’t get to defend his title after being shot accidentally by his brother-in-law while they were turkey hunting.

SERENA WILLIAMS: Barely a week after winning a fourth Wimbledon singles title, Williams was walking out of a restaurant in Munich when she stood on some glass. The American had to undergo surgery to repair cuts on her foot. A series of health complications as well forced her to miss a year on tour.

RIO FERDINAND: With his foot propped up on a coffee table in 2001, Ferdinand strained a tendon behind a knee. At the time, Ferdinand was world soccer’s most expensive defender following a $26-million move from West Ham to Leeds in 2000.

JOEL ZUMAYA: A former reliever for the Detroit Tigers, Zumaya missed three games in the 2006 AL Championship Series with inflammation in his wrist and forearm. The

cause? Spending too much time playing Guitar Hero.

GUS FREROTTE: The most replayed moment of this NFL quarterback’s career came in the second quarter of a 1997 game while playing for the Washington Redskins. Frerotte suffered a sprained neck when he headed-butted a concrete wall after running for a touchdown.

BODE MILLER: The American skier sprained his right ankle during a volleyball game at the end of 2009, forcing him to miss some pre-Olympic races. Still, Miller left Vancouver 2010 with gold, silver and bronze medals.