A knee injury cut short Saer Sene‘s first season with the New England Revolution in August 2012. His second MLS campaign came to an unfortunate end Saturday when injury disaster struck the Revs striker again.
Sene broke his left leg and dislocated his left ankle during the Revs’ 1-0 victory over the Montreal Impact. The injury happened in the 18th minute when Montreal captain Davy Arnaud made a hard, but fair, challenge in the Impact penalty area, trapping Sene’s foot between his legs.
“I feel really bad about what happened,” the Associated press reports Arnaud said. “It looks like it’s a really bad injury. I think it was a good tackle. I won the ball clean, but his foot might have got caught underneath me. You never want to see that happen. I still feel bad about it. I hope he’s OK.”
Players from both teams immediately called for medical staff to rush to Sene’s aid, and the game was halted for six minutes, as the stricken Sene Sene was stretchered off the field. He was was taken to a local hospital where doctors confirmed the fracture and dislocation.
Revolution head coach Jay Heaps said the incident shook up his players, according to the Boston Herald.
“You run into situations on the field that are bigger than the game,” he said. “Everyone’s heart went out to what happened to Saer. It’s a devastating play for both teams to be a part of that and to see it. The response from our guys, coming together, you just felt where there was going to be a moment where our guys would have a chance to make a play.”
Sene tore his right ACL on Aug. 29, 2012. He had scored a team-high 11 goals before the injury. He returned to competitive action in April and played 23 games (scoring five goals and adding five assists) before Saturday’s injury ended his 2013 season.
The 26-year-old Frenchman faces another long road to recovery.
See Sene’s injury in the video below (warning: it contains graphic images).
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