Sickening broken leg leaves West Brom, Everton players in tears (Warning: graphic photos)

Henry Bushnell
·Senior soccer reporter
James McCarthy is stretchered off after breaking his leg against West Brom. (Getty)
James McCarthy is stretchered off after breaking his leg against West Brom. (Getty)

Everton midfielder James McCarthy was stretchered off the field during Saturday’s game against West Brom after suffering a double leg break, Everton confirmed after the match.

Video and photos of the incident are below. WARNING: The photos are graphic.

West Brom’s Salomon Rondon attempted to shoot, but instead struck the back of McCarthy’s leg, which was planted when contact was made. McCarthy’s leg snapped. Nearby players immediately reacted hysterically.

The following video shows the play live, from afar, but does not show a replay.

The sight of the injury left Rondon – who was not at fault, but was unfortunately responsible for the injury – in tears. His teammates and manager Alan Pardew attempted to console him while medical personnel attended to McCarthy.

Alan Pardew (left) consoles Salomon Rondon (center). (Getty)
Alan Pardew (left) consoles Salomon Rondon (center). (Getty)

The international TV feed chose to pause the replays right as Rondon kicked McCarthy’s leg, and right before it snapped.

Photographers, however, caught the moment of impact, and the immediate aftermath.

Again, a warning: If you get squeamish when seeing these kinds of injuries, it’s best to not scroll down any farther.

James McCarthy’s leg break, at the moment of impact. (Getty)
James McCarthy’s leg break, at the moment of impact. (Getty)
James McCarthy’s leg break, right after the moment of impact. (Getty)
James McCarthy’s leg break, right after the moment of impact. (Getty)
James McCarthy on the ground in pain after the incident. (Getty)
James McCarthy on the ground in pain after the incident. (Getty)

McCarthy, obviously, faces a long spell on the sidelines. Here’s hoping he can recover from the injury as fully and as quickly as possible.

Rondon stayed in the game. Everton came back to get a 1-1 draw on Oumar Niasse’s 70th-minute equalizer.

– – – – – – –

Henry Bushnell covers global soccer, and occasionally other ball games, for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.