Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi has woken from an induced coma after undergoing surgery to repair a serious abdominal injury according to BBC Sport.
Taiwo Awoniyi had suffered a ruptured intestine after colliding with a goalpost late in Nottingham Forest’s 2-2 draw with Leicester City on Sunday. He was quickly rushed to the hospital on Monday after further scans by Forest’s medical team revealed the extent of the injury.
After undergoing the initial surgery on Monday, the striker remained in an induced coma on Tuesday while medical staff closely monitored his condition as part of the treatment.
Awoniyi then had the second phase of the operation, which involved closing the wound on Wednesday before he was woken up from the induced coma in the early evening.
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Reports indicate that Nottingham Forest will investigate the circumstances that led to Awoniyi being permitted to return to the pitch, with the club recently emphasising in a statement that the player’s health and well-being remain their top priority.
In an interview with BBC Sport, consultant colorectal surgeon Professor Gillian Tierney stated that injuries like the one Awoniyi sustained can be life-threatening.
“The injury is really serious. It is potentially life-threatening,” said Tierney. “It is very easy to miss at the point of contact and can take hours to diagnose.”
“In a hospital setting we would send a patient for a CT scan which could take up to 10 hours. If it occurred to an athlete who was super fit, very muscular and was running on adrenaline then I think it would be extremely understandable to miss it. Fluid leaking from the intestine would not be easy to diagnose straight away.”
“Surgery is usually required and the stomach would be opened up. The mortality stat is 9%. So if an athlete – who went through the procedure – was really fit, they would stand a good chance of being OK. It would be different if the operation occurred for an 80-year-old, who has other health issues,” he added.
Although he won’t be able to play for the rest of this season, Nottingham Forest would hope and work towards Awoniyi making a full recovery in time for the next season.
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