Former Australia Opener Matthew Hayden Suffers Spine Fracture After Freak Surfing Accident
Monday, October 8, 2018 IST
Former Australia cricketer Matthew Hayden stated on Monday that he had “dodged a bullet” after suffering severe head and neck injuries as well as spine fractures, while surfing during a holiday in Queensland.
Hayden, an opening batsman who was last year inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame, 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.
A photo posted on Instagram showed him wearing a neck brace and some serious head lacerations. The cricketer said he had an MRI and CT scan and was "on the road to recovery".
“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, who retired from international cricket in 2009 after a 103-Test career, 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 told the newspaper Monday.
“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.”
This isn’t the first major incident to take place with Hayden. In 1999, he was forced to "swim for his life" when his boat turned over and sank on his way to North Stradbroke Island for a summer fishing excursion.
He and fellow cricketer Andrew Symonds as well as another friend swam about a kilometre while battling strong conditions and exhaustion.
Related Topics
Trending News & Articles
Sachin Tendulkar was the pillar of an Indian victory in the Coca-Cola Cup in Sharjah in 1998. Tendulkar’s belligerence won India the championship against a fo...
Recently posted . 164K views . 1 min read
Khashaba Dadasaheb Jadhav (Marathi: श्री. खाशाबा दादासाहेब जाधव, January 15, 1926 – August 14, 1984) was an Indian athlete. He is best known as a wrestler who...
Recently posted . 8K views . 60 min read
Asad Rauf, a previous ICC World class Board umpire from Pakistan, kicked the bucket at 66 years old.
Recently posted . 6K views . 0 min read
During the examination, it was uncovered that the CWG Organizing Committee had paid a messed up sum for planning and buys. The underlying evaluation for putting tog...
Recently posted . 6K views . 2 min read
More in Sports
The reports, circulated via WhatsApp voice messages from a man with an Argentine accent, said Diego Maradona had been hospitalised and had died of cardiac arrest.
Recently posted. 863 views . 1 min read
The Rock's last big showdown in the WWE was his famous feud with John Cena at WrestleMania 29. However, his last official match took place at WrestleMania 32, w...
Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read
Virat Kohli who has impressed the nation with his cricketing skills, is now experimenting in the realm of fashion design. Kohli launched a pair of sneakers designed...
Recently posted. 990 views . 2 min read
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 3K views
Recently posted . 6K views
Until Monday, nothing appeared to go ideal for Sanju Samson this season. He needed to delicate an unequivocal statement of regret to the Kerala Cricket Association ...
Recently posted. 1K views . 25 min read
Team India players took to social media to share fun-loving moments along with selfies captured at the airport and in-flight.
Recently posted. 899 views . 0 min read