Jeff White recalls horrific injuries after being kicked in face by Steven King in 2005

FOOTY fans will never forget the sickening image of ex-Cat Steven King’s leg landing on Demon Jeff White’s face during a 2005 final — and neither will he.

Jeff White holds his face after being kicked by Steven King in 2005.

“IT’S a big hit.”

Footy fans will never forget the sickening image of ex-Geelong ruckman Steven King’s leg landing squarely on Melbourne tower Jeff White’s face during the 2005 elimination final at the MCG.

And neither will White, who still lives with five metal plates and 14 screws in his face after King’s fresh air shot at the footy missed its intended target, but instead connected with the Melbourne star, shattering his jaw.

“I just leant towards the ball and his weight came from the right and just totally blindsided me and hit me right in the upper lip,” White said on SEN’s This is Your Sporting Life this morning.

“I remember laying there, I didn’t black out, I wasn’t knocked out.

“I just remember thinking I just couldn’t believe what it was.

“I had no idea how I ended up where I was.

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“I got up, the doctor was there and I could see the pool of blood in my hands.”

White appears to bear no ill-will toward King over the kick, which happened just weeks out from his wedding to then-girlfriend Stacy and left him requiring plastic surgery.

“I was actually getting married eight weeks or six weeks later so it was a touch and go moment,” he said.

King and White battle in the ruck before the incident.

King stands the mark with White in trouble after the kick.

“We already had it obviously all booked, all the guests, the date — everything was set.

“The surgeon did a fantastic job. I had a beard for a little while and it was very numb, but ... it’s been OK since then.”

King was reported for rough play, but was cleared by the match review panel.

Then-coach Mark Thompson said he had to counsel the Cats’ giant after the hit.

“I think he’s very upset about the injury he’s caused,” Thompson said at the time.

“It wasn’t reckless, it was totally accidental.”

White said the injury was a lesson to footballers everywhere — wear your mouthguard.

“You take positives out of negatives, positives was I had my mouthguard in and it didn’t hit me anywhere else because it could have been a totally different story,” he said.

White in the hands of a trainer as he leaves the ground, following the kick.

“I had a beard for a little while and it was very numb”: White on his shocking injury.

“I guess one of the lessons for any kids, anyone playing footy, is that if I didn’t have my mouthguard in I would have lost all my front teeth.

“My teeth were stuck there and they still say to this day that if I didn’t have my mouthguard in I would have lost them all.

“That’s how big the hit was.

“So (to) all the kids (out) there, wear your mouthguard.”

For the record, the Cats won the game, 18.8 (116) to 9.7 (61), but would fall the next week to eventual premier Sydney.

White with then girlfriend — now wife — Stacy, days after surgery to repair his face.