A-League star forced to wait for ambulance after breaking his leg at AAMI Park
An A-League star was forced to wait in pain for an ambulance after a gruesome leg injury in Melbourne.
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A-League boss Greg O’Rourke defended the lack of an ambulance being on standby at AAMI after Adelaide midfielder was forced to wait more than 15 minutes after suffering a horrendous leg injury in his team’s 3-3 draw with Melbourne City on Sunday.
Juande, 36, was rushed to hospital after tackling City substitute Florin Berenguer in the 69th minute before Jamie Maclaren’s stoppage-time penalty salvaged a draw for the home side.
The game was delayed for more than 35 minutes because of Juande’s injury as he waited for an ambulance to arrive.
Juande was stabilised with an emotional Javi Lopez by his Spanish compatriot’s side for the duration of on-field treatment before paramedics treated the midfielder.
Adelaide assistant coach Mark Milligan said the ambulance arriving more than 15 minutes after the shocking injury wasn’t overly concerning.
“It’s never nice, we have to make sure that Juande is looked after properly,” Milligan said.
“Not concerned (about the delay) because they’re doing (treating the injury) it properly, so that’s the main thing.
“It takes as long as it takes. “We’ll deal with the other (Reds) players once Juande is looked after in the best possible way.
“Melbourne City and their medical staff have looked after us in the best possible way.
“Football sometimes has to take a back seat.”
Adelaide star Craig Goodwin said all the players were still in shock after the injury.
“Our hearts are with Juande at the moment,” Goodwin said.
“It’s hard to pick yourself up after that and a silly mistake right at the end cost us all points.”
The incident was made worse by the lack of an ambulance but A-Leagues O‘Rourke told the TV broadcast that it was no longer a requirement to have an ambulance at A-League games.
“In Nov. 2018, static ambulance services were withdrawn by Ambulance Victoria and instead Emergency Physicians were installed at the stadium.
“Emergency Physicians are doctors who have specialised in Emergency Medicine as specialist medical practitioners they are able to provide a higher level of care than a paramedic.
“That change was approved by PFA in 2018 and has been policy in Victoria ever since. In every other state, it remains policy to have static ambulances.“
Adelaide had City on the ropes when Blackwood who was making his first start since November scored after 34 seconds.
Marco Tilio’s mistimed attempt at clearing the ball inside the box trickled to Adelaide’s Ethan Alagich before he toed the leather to striker Blackwood. Blackwood side-footed the ball home from 10m after replacing Hiroshi Ibusuki who was benched.
City’s Finnish stopper Lam equalised in the 12th minute, outjumping Goodwin and Blackwood at the near post before nodding the ball into the back of the net from a Valon Berisha corner kick.
Kitto scored Adelaide’s second goal with his head from a Javi Lopez flick-on at the near post from Goodwin’s corner in the 17th minute. Ibusuki entered the fray when Blackwood was forced off the pitch with what appeared to be a knee injury when he landed awkwardly defending a corner in the 29th minute.
City pressed hard for an equaliser before the break, but Adelaide appeared to be comfortable sitting on the edge of the box as the home side kept possession and played several triangular passes, without troubling keeper Joe Gauci in the first half.
At the other end of the pitch, Bos made a calamitous error when he squared a wild ball inside his own box which turned into an assist for Goodwin who blasted the ball home from 8m in the 43rd minute.
It was Goodwin’s 50th goal for Adelaide.
Leckie made it 3-2, scoring with a 22m drive which beat Gauci at the far post after Adelaide’s defence backed off, allowing the Socceroo to shoot without a challenge in the 52nd minute.
A-League Melbourne City 3 (Thomas Lam 12m, Mathew Leckie 52m, Jamie Maclaren 90m) Adelaide United 3 (George Blackwood 1m, Ryan Kitto 17m, Craig Goodwin 43m) at AAMI Park – Referee: Adam Kersey.
Originally published as A-League star forced to wait for ambulance after breaking his leg at AAMI Park
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