ALAN SMITH

[Taxigirl]

Now I will be the first to admit that he hasn't been on my Xmas card list for a couple of years now and yes Iam still pissed off at him for choosing to play for who he did, BUT.....

Yesterday Alan Smith badly broke his leg and dislocated his ankle when he came on as a sub for Man United in an FA Cup tie against Liverpool at Anfield.

He went down in a twisted heap, dislocated his ankle and the force of that broke his leg, Sir Alex Ferguson in describing the incident said "Its one of the worst I have ever seen".

Watching MOTD last night I saw Alan laying on his back and taking oxygen off the ambulance crew, still managing to acknowledge the applause he was receiving (from both sets of fans) whilst in a state of near delirium.



I do hope beyond hope that he will recover from this horrific injury, I found myself in tears for him.

His agent has said that his ankle has been put back and he will undergo an operation on his leg this morning. He went on to say "Alan is a tough character" (nothing we don't know there) "He is already talking about what rehabilitation he will need"


I would personally on behalf of this forum and its members, wish Alan all the very best and we all hope that he will be able to play again as soon as possible, he would die to play this game and ALWAYS gives his all in everything he does, a real 100%er.




Good Luck Smithy (TROUBLE 17) we still love you.

[Salem6]

I dunno why we didn't buy him

I wish him a smooth & save recovery.

I give anyone the blessing to punch any man, or verbally abuse any woman, that says "It's only a game".

[Taxigirl]

www.sportinglife.com





Alan Smith has spoken for the first time about the horrific injuries he suffered during Manchester United's 1-0 FA Cup loss to Liverpool on Saturday.

The England international has undergone successful surgery after breaking his left leg and dislocating his ankle at Anfield when charging down a John Arne Riise free-kick.

"I felt my leg go from under me as I went to block a free-kick," Smith told The Sun.

"When I looked down, the leg was lying one way and my ankle was pointing towards Hong Kong so I knew I was in serious trouble.

"But the doctors are being very positive, I've had the operation and now it's a question of starting on the road back."

The severity of the injury and the shocked reaction of players from both teams raised immediate comparisons with the career-ending injury suffered by Coventry defender David Busst at Old Trafford in 1996.

However, Smith's agent Alex Black was quick to play down fears the 24-year-old may never play again.

Black told Sky Sports News: "Certainly from what Alan has been told we're not under the impression that it's at all career-threatening. It will be a long process to come back but if anybody is going to come back from it, it'll be Alan.

"He is tough, not just physically but mentally as well, so he has already started to talk about how quickly he can come back and get himself going again.

"As soon as Alan stays down for any injury, you know it is something quite serious.

"As they called everybody over you feared the worst and when you see the pictures it confirms it a little bit.

"He managed to stay in control of himself despite what must have been excruciating pain. What appears to have happened is when he dislocated his ankle, the force of that actually broke his leg just above his ankle as well.

"We're hopeful that the pictures look a lot worse than (the injury) actually is. The two injuries individually are both serious but they're not major, major injuries and can be treated in a relatively straightforward way, but the two together make it a long healing process for him."

Smith will stay in hospital for a few days and could be in plaster for several weeks.

His recovery time is not yet clear but it is feared he could face 12 months on the sidelines.

Black also recognised most supporters were offering sympathy as Smith was carried off the field on a stretcher, despite an initially unsavoury response from Liverpool fans.

"He was a little bit delirious as he was coming off but he was able to recognise that not just the Manchester United fans but a lot of the Liverpool fans were giving him a good round of applause," Black said.