Ice hockey star suffers gruesome skate injury in wake of Adam Johnson death

06 December 2023 , 18:09

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Jonas Nyhus Myhre was injured by an opponent's ice skate

A Norwegian ice hockey player has admitted he is “very lucky” after suffering a cut to his chest from an ice skate.

Jonas Nyhus Myhre was playing for Lorenskog against Storhamar on Thursday when he sustained the injury. The 19-year-old was hit by what felt like a “horse kick”, but was so pumped up from the match that he did not initially realise just how serious the injury was.

“I never saw the wound myself, so I pulled up the shirt and asked some teammates if it was bleeding. They had a shock reaction and immediately called for a doctor,” he said, as reported by Aftonbladet. “I had so much adrenaline that I didn't feel it for the first few minutes. But after about five minutes it started to really hurt and I couldn't use my chest muscle.”

Myhre was rushed to hospital where it was revealed that he had damaged his pectoral muscle. Doctors worked to sew his muscle and skin back together and, once he had taken stock of his injuries, Myhre admitted: “I was very lucky.”

He has been told to rest to help his injury heal and has been ruled out of playing ice hockey well into the New Year. Myhre is disappointed to be missing the World Juniors, which will take place in Sweden on Boxing Day and run until January 5.

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His injury comes not long after the death of Adam Johnson, who died after his neck was cut by the skate of an opponent on October 28. Johnson, who was 29, was playing for Nottingham Panthers against Sheffield Steelers.

He sustained a cut to his chest

Doctors had to sew his pectoral muscle back together

His death has rocked the ice hockey community, with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) making neck guards compulsory as a result. "The IIHF Council, on recommendation from its Medical Committee, has decided to mandate the use of a neck laceration protector, specifically designed for this purpose, at all levels of IIHF competitions," a statement from the body read.

"The neck laceration protectors are now mandatory for the senior categories in addition to the U20 and U18 categories, for which neck laceration protectors had already been enforced as per IIHF Official Rule Book.”

Adam Johnson died in October after suffering a cut to his neck from an opponent's skate (Panthers Images / SWNS)

The dangers of ice hockey were also underlined recently when Finland star Sanni Hakala was left paralysed from the chest down after a devastating on-ice accident. The 26-year-old crashed into the goalpost while captaining HV71 in a Swedish Women’s Hockey League game against Djurgårdens last week.

“It is still hard to understand what has happened, that the crash into the goal post was as serious as it was, that the consequences have become so big,” Hakala posted on Instagram. “Not only that I am forced to stop playing hockey, something that has been a big part of my life for many years, but that I may be forced to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.

“The injury I sustained last Friday after colliding with the goal post has left me paralyzed from the chest down, with reduced function in my arms and hands. That’s the reality I’m trying to land in.”

Felix Keith