Ziege almost lost his leg

Christian Ziege almost had to have his leg amputated

14 April 2012

Christian Ziege was just two hours away from losing his career when he suffered a blood clot on his thigh after Tottenham's Boxing Day clash with Charlton.

The German international underwent an emergency operation later that night after calling the club's doctor and complaining of severe pain in a thigh muscle that had grown to twice its normal size.

There were fears his damaged leg would have to be amputated because the blood supply to his muscle had ceased.

Spurs boss Glenn Hoddle today revealed that if Ziege had delayed telephoning the club doctor for a few more hours, then his future in the game would have been threatened.

The medical term for the problem is ' decompartmentalisation' and can be lifethreatening if the blockage is not dealt with swiftly.

Ziege will undergo a further operation later today to close a 10-inch wound on his thigh and he has now been ruled out for the rest of the season. Hoddle said: "It was a dead leg that turned into something much more serious.

"It was very dangerous and it was a very nasty operation because the muscle needed to be opened up and the pressure released.

"It was very difficult and complicated and one the doctor himself had not seen. They tell me it is very rare, but all I know is that if Christian had not made the phone call to the doctor until two or three hours later then certainly the muscle would have died and there would have been problems career-wise."

Ziege is already feeling better by complaining of boredom in the London clinic where he will undergo further surgery.

He said: "I imagined the year ending really differently, but I can only lie here and read or watch television. Steffen Freund and two other players already visited me so at least I've had a little change."

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