Seven of sport's most gruesome injuries

Cameron Ciraldo is stretchered from the field after breaking his leg and dislocating his ankle against the Sharks in 2009. Photo / Getty Images.

Warning. If you have a weak stomach, look away now.

In the wake of Gordon Hayward's horrific leg injury during the Boston Celtics' 102-99 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers during the opening day of the 2017-18 NBA season yesterday, we have decided to compile a list of some of the worst injuries seen in sport.

This follows on from the rugby edition we listed during the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Once again, if you're squeamish, we'd recommend looking away now.

1 - Cameron Ciraldo (Newcastle Knights)

Former NRL forward Cameron Ciraldo was plying his trade for the Newcastle Knights when he sustained this horrific leg break against his former side, the Cronulla Sharks, in just the second round of the 2009 season at Shark Park.

Part of a three-man tackle, Ciraldo received a broken fibula in four places, as well as a dislocated ankle on his right leg for his defensive efforts.

The extent of the injury was so bad that his ankle was twisted around to a 90 degree angle.

Six months later, the current Italy coach extended his Knights contract by two years, before going on to play for the Penrith Panthers and the Italian national side at the 2013 World Cup.

2 - Greg Todd (Otago Volts)

You get the feeling that it must take something exceptionally unusual for someone to break their leg during a game of cricket, such is the contact-less nature of the sport.

However, former Otago Volts batting all-rounder Greg Todd managed to do exactly that while bowling against Canterbury in January 2006.

The opposing batsman drove the ball along the ground straight back towards Todd, who attempted to lower himself to the ground to catch the ball, but instead broke his right leg in two places and snapped his ankle.

"I just remember Wasa [Warren McSkimming] telling me not to look around because my foot was twisted around the other way," he told the Otago Daily Times of the incident last year.

Similarly to Ciraldo, Todd's foot rotated in a very unnatural fashion, to the point where it was facing the opposite direction as to what it should have.

Now a police constable in Melbourne, the Wairarapa native continued to play for the Volts, before moving north to Auckland and eventually back to his home side of Central Districts, where he finished his career in 2012.

3 - Janos Baranyai (Hungary weightlifting)

Anyone who watched the 2008 Beijing Olympics will not have forgotten the Hungarian weightlifter who dislocated his elbow in spectacular fashion.

That weightlifter, Janos Baranyai, was attempting to lift 148kg in the men's 77kg snatch event when he succumbed to the pressure of almost double his body weight that was being held above him.

"I've never felt such pain. I'm not a delicate kid, but that was brutal," he told the Telegraph prior to the 2012 London Olympics.

"Spiritually, this injury did not break me at all. I never think about it ... even now when I lift larger weights. It never occurs to me what would happen if my elbow were to give again."

Despite a two-year recovery period, that positive attitude towards his injury resulted in the Hungarian returning in 2010 to compete at both the European and World Championships.

The last notable event that the 33-year-old competed in was the 2015 World Weightlifting Championships in Houston, USA.

4 - Joe Thiesmann (Washington Redskins)

This one was described as the most shocking moment in NFL history by viewers in an ESPN poll.

Super Bowl champion quarterback Joe Thiesmann sustained one of the worst broken leg injuries seen in sport when he was swamped by New York Giants linebackers during a Monday Night Football game in 1985.

Attempting to run a "flea-flicker" play to try and break the 7-7 deadlock, Thiesmann offloaded the ball to running back John Riggins, who lateralled the ball back to his teammate.

From there, Thiesmann tried to run the ball past the line of scrimmage, but was met with a blitz from the Giants, led by two-time Super Bowl winner Lawrence Taylor.

As Thiesmann was dragged down, Taylor's knee drove into Theismann's lower right leg, fracturing both the tibia and the fibula, with Taylor's teammates Gary Reasons and Harry Carson joining the sack to worsen the injury.

Replays highlighted the full extent of Theismann's injury, with his lower shin at a 45-degree angle to the rest of his leg.

After emerging from a pile of bodies, a visibly shocked Taylor screamed to the sideline for medical help, with Thiesmann eventually stretched off.

Thiesmann never played a down of American football ever again, with the two-time Pro Bowler going on to pursue a career in both acting and broadcasting.

5 - Kevin Ware (Louisville Cardinals)

Kevin Ware is the only athlete on this list to have suffered an open fracture, whereby the bone not only breaks, but it also pops through the skin.

Ware's graphic injury was sustained while playing for the Louisville Cardinals in the first half of an Elite 8 game against Duke in 2013.

Ware landed awkwardly after attempting to block a three-point shot by Tyler Thornton, resulting in his right tibia piercing out of lower leg, much to the shock of players, coaches, and spectators.

Lousiville went on to not only win the game 85-63, but also the NCAA national championship, with Ware sitting alongside his teammates as they claimed the national title.

Now aged 24, Ware currently plays Greek side Faros Larissas in the Greek Basket League.

6 - Paul George (Indiana Pacers)

Oklahoma City's new star recruit suffered a painfully gruesome injury during a scrimmage in Las Vegas just prior to the 2014 Basketball World Cup in Spain.

Attempting to block the shot of USA teammate James Harden, George landed awkwardly at the base of the basket stanchion, leaving him with a compound fracture of both his tibia and fibula in his right leg.

The scrimmage was called off by USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and George was ruled out for the majority of the 2014-15 NBA season for the Indiana Pacers.

George made a full return to the NBA in April the following year, eight months after breaking his leg, playing in the Pacers' final six games of the season.

The 27-year-old remains one of the NBA's star players, with the four-time All-Star signing a $19.5 million (NZ$27.2 million) with the Thunder in July.

7 - Buck Shelford (All Blacks)

Buck Shelford will forever be known as the rugby's toughest man following his staunch efforts in Nantes in 1986.

Playing against a fiery French side, Shelford was knocked out cold, lost three teeth and had his testicles rucked out of his scrotum in a performance that is firmly etched rugby folklore.

Amazingly, Shelford did not even realize that his testicles were dangling out of his shorts and between his legs until after the test, with teammates Gary Whetton and John Gallagher having to point out the All Black captain's indecency.

Unfazed, Shelford saw the team medics to get himself stitched up, and carried on with minimal fuss.