GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: The gruesome footy injury that took 43 days, 80 stitches and a skin graft to fix after player reported a ‘corky’
- Suffered the same injury that almost ended star AFL player’s career
- I thought it was just an innocent bump from a game of football
- He almost lost his leg thanks to major surgery that saved him from having to undergo amputation
A parkfooty player tried to walk away from a serious injury he thought was a ‘corker’, only to discover he had the same horrific injury that left a former AFL player’s leg completely exposed to the muscle.
Springvale Districts defender John Walker suffered what he thought was a normal cork during a friendly against Bonbeach in March.
Despite continuing to play, his condition deteriorated drastically the next day when he lost feeling in his leg. At the hospital, nurses expressed concern about amputation.
After six hours of surgery, 80 stitches and a skin graft, Walker began a remarkable 42-day recovery that left him in shock.
“I went to the beach that night to relax, went to bed and thought it was just a normal cork,” Walker told News Corp.
John Walker (left) with coach Kris Thompson before the injury that would change his life
The inside of Walker’s leg and the gruesome scar on the outside of his leg after the bizarre injury and major surgery
‘Woke up on Sunday still very sore, back to the beach, more recovery.
‘The day went by, I was getting ready for work and then I started losing feeling in my leg so I thought I should get it looked at.
“I went to the hospital and ended up having surgery straight away… six hours, 80 stitches and a skin graft later, here it is.”
The Walker injury, known as compartment syndrome, occurs when pressure builds up and reduces blood flow, depriving the muscles and nerves of nutrition.
Former St Kilda captain Jarryn Geary suffered the same injury in 2019 and spent a week in hospital with a long open wound to drain blood.
“I’ve heard of the injury before and I’ve seen pictures, but nothing this big,” then-Saints coach Alan Richardson said at the time.
‘It’s a really serious injury… but we are now relatively optimistic that after a period of letting it heal and then training again and seeing how he responds, he has a chance to come back and play football.’
Geary’s wound required fewer stitches than Walker’s, highlighting how close Walker came to losing his leg.
In fact, he thought the nurses were just joking when they talked about removing the injured limb.
“They pretty much said, ‘You have to go under the knife immediately or you’re going to lose a foot,'” Walker said.
“At first I thought they were joking, ‘anyway, it’s just a punch.’
‘When I started drawing the wavers, I thought: this is pretty serious now, isn’t it?’
“It took me two hours to lose a foot, so I was happy when I got to the hospital.”
Walker is now on the recovery path and began his comeback to football as soon as he was able to put weight on his leg again.
“It’s just nerve damage now, the nerves will start to regenerate in a few months,” he said.
‘I still have feeling at the bottom of the back of my leg, but the front of my shin and the top of my foot are just numb.
‘It’s like an electric shock that goes through my leg when I kick it.
“They estimate that about 80 percent of them come back.”