Former Coventry City defender David Busst admits he couldn't watch Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva's horror injury on Saturday.
It is 12 years since the Coventry defender's career was shattered in a collision with Denis Irwin at Old Trafford. Manchester United keeper Peter Schmeichel was sick when he saw the state of the centre half's shattered right leg. Play was halted for 12 minutes while Busst's blood was mopped up from the goalmouth. He was carried off - and his playing days were over, although he still plays for an over-35 team.
"I got there a bit late," he told the Daily Mail. "Eduardo had just been taken off. I knew it was horrendous when Sky did not show the replay.
"I saw it on Match of the Day. I saw Martin Taylor coming towards him, saw the foot go up and I had to look away. It brought back the memories. I flinched. I just looked away as soon as I saw the connection. Eduardo looked as if he had a look at it first, but I don't remember doing that. I remember thinking that if I moved I would feel more pain, if that was possible.
"You just go rigid. I had the sense that something was missing, that not everything was where it should be. It's a very strange and incredibly painful few seconds."
Busst, 40, who works at Coventry's Academy and in their community football programme, underwent 10 operations in his first six weeks in hospital.
"I had a big hole in my leg with the bone breaking through,' he said. 'That's when you get the danger of infection or damaging the surrounding tissue. Everyone thinks my career was ended by a leg break but it wasn't that. I had a spiral fracture - the bone broke i n jagged fashion, rather than it being a clean break.
"But it was an MRSA bug which infected my leg and destroyed the muscle tissue beyond repair. In those days people just weren't aware of MRSA. I always send a 'get well' message to players who have broken their legs badly and I'll be putting pen to paper for Eduardo. I remember how much all the letters meant to me when I was lying in hospital."
