Media sources have reported that Nottingham Forest’s striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, has regained consciousness after an induced coma following urgent surgery to address a critical abdominal injury.
In the closing seconds of Forest’s 2-2 tie with Leicester City on Sunday, the Nigerian international collided with a goalpost, resulting in an injury.
After the hit caused Awoniyi’s bowel to burst, he was taken to the hospital on Monday and had the first stage of a difficult surgical procedure to fix the damage.
The 27-year-old was reportedly put into an induced coma on Tuesday so that medical professionals could keep a careful eye on his condition.
On Wednesday, the second stage of the surgery was completed, and the medical staff successfully brought him out of the induced coma.
In a chat with BBC Sport, consultant colorectal surgeon Professor Gillian Tierney said injuries of such nature are dangerous.
He said, “The injury is really serious. It is potentially life-threatening. It is very easy to miss at the point of contact and can take hours to diagnose.
“In a hospital setting we would send a patient for a CT scan, which could take up to 10 hours.
“If it occurred to an athlete who was super fit, very muscular and was running on adrenaline, then I think it would be extremely understandable to miss it. Fluid leaking from the intestine would not be easy to diagnose straight away.”
Awoniyi’s situation aroused tension as many supporters became worried and were agitated over the outcome of the surgery, which was declared a 50/50 survival chance.
