Healy injury "more common in someone who has been hit by a car"

The severity of the injury to Colin Healy was underlined today by the Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon who is treating the player at Sunderland Royal Hospital.

Gavin De Kiewiet operated on Healy earlier this week and gave the news that Healy had suffered a clean break rather than a more complicated compound break.

However Mr De Kiewiet was in no doubt over the severity of the injury. "He has suffered an injury which is more common in someone who has been hit by a car.

"When I first saw Colin on Tuesday he was a little depressed about the whole scenario and the question of what this would mean for his career. "

But the good news is that Healy is already receiving physiotherapy to help him begin using his injured leg again; it's been confirmed that the operation this week was successful, and Healy could be up and walking again within four weeks.