Alan Smith once broke his leg playing for Manchester United against Liverpool, but a different injury left him with permanent damage, and he'll never experience normality again
Former Manchester United striker Alan Smith has explained how an injury left him with no feeling in his toes
Former Manchester United striker Alan Smith has explained how an injury left him with no feeling in his toes
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Former Manchester United striker Alan Smith has revealed the reason behind his permanent loss of sensation in three toes on his left foot. The ex-Premier League forward had an illustrious career, playing 604 competitive matches and scoring 70 goals.
Smith, who also had spells at Elland Road and Newcastle United, is notorious for suffering what Sir Alex Ferguson described as one of the most horrific injuries he'd ever seen. This gruesome incident took place during an FA Cup match against Liverpool, when Smith broke his leg trying to block a free-kick from John Arne Riise.
However, Smith has now revealed that a separate injury he sustained while playing for Newcastle United has caused him more lasting damage, resulting in the loss of feeling in three toes. He said: "It actually wasn't that one with Riise that made the ankle as bad as it was.
"When I played in the derby for Newcastle against Sunderland, that's when I did it again. I just got a tackle, Kieran Richardson came in, it was a bad tackle, but it wasn't malicious. He just came in and caught me on my standing foot, on my standing leg, but it was my left.
"He literally just went high on my ankle, and my ankle inverted, so the opposite of what it should and it just went inwards. That was worse because I already had all my metal work in there.
"I went to James Calder at the Fortius Clinic in London about it, because he'd done a lot of my surgeries after, and he basically couldn't tell what was new damage and what was old damage, and that's when I lost all the nerve damage in my foot, because I can't feel the last three toes on my left side, I can't feel them."
The 45-year-old reflected on his leg break at Anfield two decades ago, maintaining the injury was completely accidental. Smith confessed: "Yeah, you're probably right I would charge and block the Riise free-kick again.
"When you look back at it, you know lads who have played and all f****** put their bodies through all sorts, and they've all got ailments and can't walk and can't do that, but that's what we were, that's what you do!
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - February 18: Alan Smith of Manchester United is injured during the FA Cup 5th Round match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on February 18, 2006 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Mayhew/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
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"Everyone says this and that about Riise, and I'm like, 'F****** hell, he didn't do anything wrong!' It wasn't a bad tackle. It was just unfortunate. You block it, you land, it goes underneath you, whatever it is."
Despite suffering such a serious injury, Smith still plays football recreationally and coaches in the United States. He has also remained active through other sporting pursuits.
"Yeah the body's fine, because I don't really try and do anything to make it bad," he revealed when questioned about his current physical state. "Cycling, swimming... I think the key is to just try and keep doing something.
"It's trying to find that balance of doing something that doesn't make my ankle really bad so I'm struggling to walk, but doing enough to get movement in it. So it's doing okay.
"It's just not stressing it too much because it's the inflammation then obviously the next day. I've been doing red light therapy on my ankle quite a bit and that's been helping it because it takes the inflammation down a lot. Just in the mornings when I'm getting going that I struggle with the ankle."
Discussing the permanent metalwork in his ankle, he explained: "Yeah, I've got them in my left side. My left side I've got the screws in. The same screws from the operation!
"Some people take them out, but I always remember when I went to United, Quinton Fortune had them in his knee, and then Quinnie got advice that he should take them out, and I always remember he took them out, and then a few months later, he did his knee again.
"So I've always thought I'd rather leave him in and be on safe side than try and take him out and then, God forbid, all that happens."