DANIIL KHUDYAKOV suffered a HORROR injury in the Graz derby after being on the receiving end of a nasty challenge.
The Russian was between the sticks for Sturm Graz on Sunday as they took on bitter rivals Grazer AK.
But he was stretchered off the pitch in the 28th minute with a broken leg after being on the receiving end of a mistimed tackle from Grazer’s Jacob Italiano.
The viral foul happened in the 21st minute after Khudyakov took a heavy touch inside the box as he received a back pass.
The hastily cleared the ball but ended up having his lower shin crunched by the onrushing Italiano, who tried to cut out his clearance.
Italiano’s trailing leg collided with Khudyakov’s right leg and left the 22-year-old writing in agony.
The severity of the injury wasn’t initially known until one of his team-mates rushed to his side.
Arjan Melic yelled for immediate medical attention after seeing Khudyakov’s foot hanging from just above his ankle.
Several Grazer players were visibly shaken by the injury and, along with their counterparts, formed a huddle around the stricken Khudyakov to shield his pain from the cameras.
Upon realising the damage he’d caused, Italiano became visibly emotional.
Khudyakov was immediately rushed to the hospital and later underwent surgery.
Grazer boss Fabio Ingolitsch said: “He’s undergoing surgery right now. It was a clean lower-leg fracture.”
Ingolitsch, who watched his troops run out a 6-1 winners, then praised the first responders for doing their utmost to tend to the Graz stopper.
He continued: “They did everything they could on the field to at least prevent the blood vessels from dying off.
“Because it’s a very, very serious injury.
Italiano, somehow, avoided punishment for his devastating tackle.
The Australia international said: “It was a terrible situation.
“I wish him a speedy recovery and will definitely send him get-well wishes.”
The decision not to punish Italiano enraged Graz president Christian Jauk, who said: “We need to question a lot of things.
“We need to question a lot of things in .
“It was an aggressive match from the start, and the referee did nothing about it.
“We need the quality somewhere to ensure that something like this can’t happen.”
