GIVEN: I Though I'd Broken My Neck!
By Matthew Jones
September 19 2003
27-year-old Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given has revealed how he feared his career was over when he thought he had broken his neck. He dived into a challenge in the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2004 qualifier against Russia last week.
The worst fears crossed his mind.
Given said: "I thought I'd broken my neck and it was a bit scary to be honest because my career could have been over if that had been the case.
"The bottom line was that had my neck been broken, I may not have played again.
"I could have been just one challenge away from that, and when I came down I really did think something was gone because there was a proper crunch.
"It just shows how quickly it could all end and it puts everything else into perspective. But fortunately, I was okay."