BUSST: EVERYONE WHO SAW THIS WILL BE AFFECTED... PLAYERS, OFFICIALS, FANS
AS players held their heads in their hands over Andre Gomes’ horror injury, the scenes at Goodison Park brought back bad memories for David Busst.
It was at Old Trafford on April 8, 1996, when Coventry defender Busst suffered an appalling broken leg (above), which punctured his skin, shed blood on the pitch and Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel rushed away to vomit.
Rarely a day goes by without Busst thinking about it. He was caught between challenges from United’s Brian McClair and Denis Irwin at a corner.
Now 52, Busst (right) underwent 10 operations in his first 12 days of a six-week spell in hospital.
He eventually had 23 operations, with his nightmare compounded by an MRSA infection, which left him with a right leg he says now resembles “a shark bite”. He never played again.
Busst now works for the Sky Blues In The Community charity and hopes advances in surgery will ensure a better recovery for Gomes.
“For the first few days he will have questions like, ‘Will I play again, what is the extent of the injury and when can I start training again’?,” said Busst.
“It is all those questions and no-one will be able to give exact answers.
“He will be reflecting on the injury and you have those questions of selfdoubt. But no two injuries are the same and for me it is whether the injury stayed in the skin or came out.
“But technology has moved on from 23 years ago when my injury was at the forefront. Also, nowadays when you sign a contract you probably don’t need to ever work again. All the players are heavily insured and all the financial concerns I went through won’t apply.
“It will be about the physical and mental side of getting through this. But all footballers are generally mentally resilient because they have to be to get into the profession.
“Hopefully it was a clean break – with mine it was a spiral fracture, which is one of the worst you can have.
“But I have always had a clear outlook on life. S*** happens and you get on with it. It is setting small achievable goals and moving forwards.”
Gomes’ injury left the Everton star screaming in agony and Tottenham forward Heung-Min Son was in tears long after getting sent off by VAR for a foul in the incident.
Busst believes the ordeal will continue to affect everyone who witnessed it, even the spectators.
He added: “I meet old Coventry team-mates at former player events and they tell me their perspective.
“Everyone saw it from different angles. I also get fans telling me they were at that game and can recall Schmeichel being sick.
“I’ve not spoken to Denis or Brian about the injury. But ultimately we all respect our fellow professionals.
“Son will wonder if he have done anything else, was it a freak accident?
“The worst injuries are cruciates and leg breaks. But before they used to be career-threatening and now it is not as bad with technology moving on.”