Nottingham Forest captain Ryan Yates suffered a sickening finger injury against Fenerbahce – but played on all the same.
The midfielder dislocated his pinkie finger after falling and landing awkwardly barely seven minutes into the second leg of Forest’s Europa League play-off.
Yates, 28, was in clear pain and required immediate attention from Forest’s medical team at the City Ground.
TNT Sports considered the incident too grisly to show a replay of due to Yates’ finger being bent at a 90-degree angle.
But the Englishman simply soldiered on from there in a show of toughness.
Commentator Darren Fletcher said: ‘The fact he’s just gestured to the physio and said, “Can you come and just sort this out,” is remarkable.
Nottingham Forest captain Ryan Yates dislocated his finger after landing awkwardly during their Europa League clash with Fenerbahce
He called over medical attention and, once patched up, simply carried on playing
‘They’ll just stick it back in. He’s actually smiling about it. We’re not going to show you it because it can put you off your tea.’
Forest’s fans were impressed by their skipper’s determination, with one writing on X: ‘Ryan Yates is rock ‘ard isn’t he?’
‘Hard as nails. Proper footballer. My captain,’ another said.
‘I would have had a week off work,’ one quipped.
It wasn’t even the worst viewing for Forest fans on the night.
The East Midlands club thrashed Fenerbahce 3-0 in the away leg last week in Vitor Pereira’s first game in charge.
But the Turkish club came to England with a vengeance, taking a 1-0 lead after 22 minutes thanks to Kerem Akturkoglu.
And Akturkoglu doubled Fenerbahce’s lead from the penalty spot early in the second half after Jair Cunha’s foul, which many felt had been cheaply given.
But Callum Hudson-Odoi halved the deficit and gave Forest breathing room in the tie after 68 minutes with a superb bottom-corner finish.
From there, Pereira’s side hung on to win the tie 4-2 on aggregate, despite being spooked and losing 2-1 on the night.
