Baník striker suffers gruesome leg fracture in match against Sigma

At the stadium in Vítkovice, during the match between Baník Ostrava and Sigma Olomouc, the home side's Senegalese striker Abdallah Gning suffered a serious injury. In the 13th minute, the player attempted an acrobatic move to control a bouncing ball in the opponents' penalty area, but landed awkwardly, twisting his left leg at an unnatural angle.

The footballer immediately clutched his face in pain, and fans in the stands quickly realised something serious had happened. Medics rushed onto the pitch with a stretcher, and the packed stadium fell silent. According to Baník Ostrava, Gning suffered a fracture of the left shin and was immediately hospitalised — surgery is likely to take place on the very day of the injury. He was replaced in the 15th minute by Vít Škrkoň.

An eerie coincidence with last year's injury

The incident inevitably brought to mind a similar case that occurred at the very same stadium, in a match between the same two clubs, in April last year. Back then, Baník defender Michal Frydrych broke the leg of Sigma forward Jan Kliment with a rough tackle — the Olomouc striker was sidelined for seven months with a fractured fibula.

There is a strong chance that Gning, too, will now have to put football aside for many months.

Two more players added to the injury list

Besides the 27-year-old Senegalese, Baník also lost midfielder Michal Kohut, who was injured before the teams headed off for the break and did not return for the second half. Then, in stoppage time of the second half, Vasil Sinyavskyi limped off the pitch as well.

"That's football. I was actually shocked that we hadn't had a single injured player in two months. These things happen. Kohut's injury doesn't look serious, and as for Sinyavskyi, I was told it's a knee problem," said Baník coach Roman Skuhravý, commenting on the situation.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz