The 81st edition of the Masters Tournament is hours away from tee-off at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. This weekend sees the year’s first Major, and came with some major news breaking on its eve with the bizarre injury to world number one, Dustin Johnson.
In a statement read by his manager “At roughly 3pm today, Dustin took a serious fall on a staircase in his Augusta rental home,” This makes it uncertain whether the world’s No. 1 golfer would be able to play the tournament. It could potentially change the history of sport and make way for Rory McIlroy, Jason Day or Hideki Matsuyam to take the trophy home.
In light of this, we have looked at four moments in history where a last minute injury changed the course of sporting history:
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1. Larry Bird, Boston Celtics 1988
On Nov. 15 1988 fate of the Boston Celtics changed for the next decade when star player Larry Bird landed awkwardly after a layup and spent the game on the side-lines, it soon became apparent that the injury would last for the entire season. Celtics did not recover, Bird retired in 1992 and the next NBA championship trophy would not come Boston until 2008.
2. Geoff Hurst, England, 1966
Jimmy Greaves is arguably the finest natural goal-scorer England has ever produced. During the final group match against France he suffered an injury resulting in stitches and was left out of the 1966 World Cup. Geoff Hurst was his replacement in the quarter-finals against Argentina, where he scored the winner and continued in the same position throughtout the tournament. Hurst surprised the crowds scoring a hat-trick in the final to beat Germany. Alf Ramsey’s England might never have won the World Cup and Geoff Hurst may have never got his knighthood if it wasn’t for poor old Greaves’ injury.
3. Diego Maradona, Barcelona 1983
One of the most brutal and infamous fouls in the history of football occurred during Atletico Bilbao vs. Barcelona match on 24 September 1983. The predator Andoni Goikoetxea widely known as “The Butcher of Bilbao” because of the incident and the prey, one of the greatest players of all time Diego Maradona wearing the Barcelona jersey. Goikoetxea, literally assaulted Maradona with a rocket like reflex from behind and broke the Argentinian’s ankle. It took 15 years and the incedent resulted in rule changes, tackle from behind was finally outlawed by FIFA in 1998.
4. Ayrton Senna, 1994
A true motor sport legend and an icon, Ayrton Senna was an exemplary sportsmen. The quickest and most talented F1 driver of his era to grace the circuit. On May 1st 1994, the Brazilian’s car crashed into a concrete barrier while he was leading the San Marino Grand Prix which resulted in his tragic demise. The event led to many improvements in F1 safety regulations and allowed a young German racer by the name of Michael Schumacher to shine, for all intended purposes Schumacher would have most likely spent his career trailing Senna.
