To play a sport, athletes are always aware of the injuries that come with it; thankfully, over time, they are returning to play quicker and better than ever.
Myles Bailey, a first baseman for the Florida State University Seminoles, made a feet-first slide into second base during the Florida State vs Duke game, injuring his right leg in one of the most graphic injuries the sports world has seen in a while, stirring up conversation about the most gruesome injuries in sports.
Bailey has undergone successful ankle surgery and, although he will miss the remainder of the 2026 season, he is expected to make a full recovery and return after a few months of rehab.
Injuries in sports are a common thing and can range from a sprained ankle to paralysis. Contact sports, such as football, rugby, lacrosse, soccer and hockey, have some of the highest injury rates.
“The most gruesome injuries I see are from hockey,” said Katherine Bone, a sophomore English major. “When they fall, they get concussions or spinal injuries, where they can’t really move afterward.”
Hockey is one of the most violent sports, resulting in concussions, ligament tears, joint separations and sprains.
The most notable injury from hockey happened when Clint Malarchuk’s neck was sliced open by an opponent’s skate following a collision during the 1989 game between the St. Louis Blues and Malarchuk’s Buffalo Sabres.
The incident severed his carotid artery and partially cut his jugular vein, resulting in a six-inch wound and the loss of about 1.5 liters of blood, approximately 25% to 30% of the total blood in an average adult.
Due to the quick action by his trainer, a former army combat medic, Malarchuk survived and, despite needing 300 stitches to close the wound, returned to the ice 11 days after the incident.
Lacrosse is also a risk-heavy sport, with many players experiencing sprains, breaks and concussions throughout their careers.
Sam Zondervan, a freshman physics major, was playing high school lacrosse when a player on the opposing team tripped Zondervan’s teammate.
“He fell on his arm and broke it and the bone was sticking out,” Zondervan said.
Other notable sports injuries in history include the facial laceration of figure skater Jessica Dubé by partner Bryce Davison in 2007, the leg dislocation of football player Napoleon McCallum in 1994, that caused a ruptured artery and tore three ligaments resulting in nerve damage, the compound fractures of the tibia and fibula in the right leg of soccer player David Busst in 1996 and the famous 1976 Nürburgring crash of F1 driver Niki Lauda, which resulted in severe burns to his hands and head and damage to his lungs and blood from inhaling toxic gases.
Severe injuries can be career-ending, as McCallum and Busst experienced; however, some can lead to triumphant comebacks.
Dubé returned ten days later, and the pair placed seventh in the world championships. Niki Lauda returned six weeks later and finished fourth in the Italian Grand Prix.
Jessie Goldstein, a sophomore psychology major and former softball player, talks about how incredible and inspiring it is as a fan to watch star athletes return from injuries.
“If you have a favorite player, being able to see them come back can be super emotional and special, especially when they do something amazing after they come back from an injury,” Goldstein said.