A young Norwegian ice hockey player had his chest sliced open by an opponent’s skate only weeks after Adam Johnson’s death.
Jonas Nyhus Myhre, 19, who plays for a youth team from Lörenskog, Oslo, got into a scuffle with a rival player during a national league match last Thursday.
In front of nearly 500 people packing the Lørenskog Ice Rink, the Storhamar athlete’s skate struck the teen’s chest, cutting through his jersey, skin and muscle.
Having his chest ‘split in two’ felt like being ‘kicked by a horse’, Nyhus Myhre told the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, but he didn’t think much of it at first.
After playing for a few seconds during the EliteHockey Ligaen game, Nyhus Myhre lifted his shirt to his teammates only for them to see a gaping wound.
He said: ‘I had so much adrenaline that I didn’t feel it for the first few minutes.
‘But after about five minutes it started to really hurt and I couldn’t use my chest muscle.
‘I never saw the wound myself, so I pulled up the shirt and asked some teammates if it was bleeding. They had a shock reaction and immediately called for a doctor.’
Nyhus Myhre was rushed to hospital that evening, with doctors having to stitch Jonas’ skin and muscles back together.
‘I was very lucky,’ Nyhus Myhre added.
But the budding professional player will be out of the rink until at least mid-February, meaning he won’t be able to compete in the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, also known as JVM, in Sweden later this month.