Awoniyi injury could have been 'life-threatening'

NOTTINGHAM Forest's forward Taiwo Awoniyi faced a life-threatening situation before being placed in an induced coma, according to a leading doctor.

- By HARRY BENT & HARRY THOMPSON

The Nigerian striker sustained a severe injury during Sunday's 2-2 draw against Leicester City after col-liding with a goalpost while attempt-ing to reach the ball. Although Awoniyi initially signalled he was able to continue playing, he was swiftly substituted and later under went emergency surgery.

Nottingham Forest have since confirmed that the 27-year-old is "recovering well so far following urgent surgery on a serious abdomi-nal injury". Subsequent reports indi-cated that Awoniyi's condition had the potential to be fatal had it not been addressed promptly.

Dr Gareth Nye from the University of Salford has now revealed that the severity of the threat to Awoniyi's life was not exaggerated. He explained to the Daily Star that Awoniyi likely experienced a gastrointestinal per-foration, also known as a ruptured intestine, as a result of the impact with the post.

He warned that one of the gravest complications of this condition is sepsis, making it an emergency situ ation that requires immediate atten-tion.

"In essence, you have undigested food, stomach acid, enzymes designed to break down tissue and bacteria from inside your intestines, suddenly having free rein around your abdominal pelvic region, which has huge consequences to the patient," he said. "Because of this, risk of death can be as high as 50 per cent."