The horrific ankle injury sustained by Walcha forward Ben Green in a Group 4 Second Division home match against Bundarra on Saturday is “a lot worse” than initially thought, with the club’s president saying “it was basically broken clean off the bone”.
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News of the injury’s severity came as it was revealed that the 26-year-old’s father, Roos life member David, was the first aid official at the ground on Saturday and had to support his son’s shattered leg during the agonising wait for the ambulance.
The wait was extended when the ambulance officers “couldn’t get enough drugs into him” to suppress the pain adequately and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter had to be sent, Walcha president Peter Berry said, adding that Green had to wait about two hours to be airlifted to hospital.
“It was dislocated at the joint .. it was detached,” he said. “It was hanging on by the nerves and the skin, by the sounds of it.”
He said that before Green was operated on early Sunday afternoon, his leg “swelled up real bad”.
“There was a complication this morning … Apparently it just swelled up real bad and they’re not sure if it’s restricted or something is there,” he said.
He added: “They realigned it last night. But it’s got to be plated up and that sort of thing. They expect he won’t be able to put weight on it for a minimum of six weeks.”
Berry said that while Green’s recovery was the main focus of concern, attention had already turned to helping the shearer financially.
“His pay cheques finished yesterday [Saturday] afternoon,” Berry said. “I was talking to his mother this morning. He’ll be lucky if he works between now and Christmas.”
The club will organise a fundraiser for the Roos veteran, he said.
The injury occurred just before half-time when Green tackled a Bundarra player.
Berry said: “It was basically a try-saving tackle. The Bundarra player was perfect. He pulled up straight away and called for help. He knew it was no good.”