Aleix Vidal suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in recent memory during Espanyol’s game against Real Betis over the weekend.
Vidal, who spent three years with Barcelona, returned to Espanyol earlier this year after a brief stint with their youth team over a decade ago. He seems to have settled into life with the club quite nicely and in the aforementioned game against Betis, he was even able to open the scoring for his side in the 16th minute.
The final score was 2-2 after Espanyol netted a 97th-minute equaliser but the big takeaway came when Vidal went down with an injury that initially seemed fairly straightforward.
A case for shinnies
As it turned out, though, it was anything but as Vidal’s shin bone was completely exposed for the world to see.
WARNING: The pictures below probably shouldn’t be viewed if you’re feeling a bit squeamish.
Some have noted that Vidal opts to use cardboard as opposed to actual shin pads when playing which, based on this evidence, was a major misfire on his part.
The bottom line is that it’s a real shame to see this happen to any player but in equal measure, it does strengthen the case that footballers should be reverting back to the days when shin pads were used far more frequently.
In any case we wish Aleix Vidal a speedy recovery and sincerely hope nothing like this happens again – although given the fast-paced nature of the sport we’re discussing that seems unlikely.
Featured image credit: Getty
