- A teenager had his chest split open by a skate blade during a match last week
- He has admitted he was fortunate that that damage was not even worse
- His injury scare comes a month after Adam Johnson died after having his neck clashed by a skate blade
Norwegian teenager Jonas Nyhus Myhre suffered a horror injury after taking a skate blade to the chest during an ice hockey match last week.
Myhre, 19, was playing for his side Lorenskog against Storhamar on Thursday when he was caught by a stray blade from an opponent.
After taking the blow which he described as like a ‘horse kick’, Myrhe initially tried to play on but he was in too much pain.
He proceeded to lift his shirt to show his team-mates the damage, and they reacted with shock that he had a deep cut where his chest had been split in half.
Myhre was swiftly transported to hospital where it was established that he had damaged his pectoral muscle, and he needed the muscle and the skin to be sewn back together.
Reflecting on the incident, Myhre said, as quoted by Norwegian outlet Sport Bladet: ‘I had so much adrenaline that I didn’t feel it for the first few minutes. But after about five minutes it started to really hurt and I couldn’t use my chest muscle.’
He also admitted that things could have been even worse if the blade had caught him closer to his heart, as he conceded ‘I was very lucky’.
Myhre is now expected to be out until well into the new year, with the young talent not likely to make his return until mid-February at the earliest.
This means that he will miss the World Juniors which are due to get underway in Sweden on Boxing Day before finishing on January 5.
His horrific injury comes just over a month after American ice hockey player Adam Johnson died following a tragic incident when he was playing for Nottingham Panthers in October.
Johnson had his throat fatally slashed in his side’s match against Sheffield Steelers, and medics were unable to save him, with around 8,000 fans witnessing the incident.
Johnson’s death left one of his team-mates ‘traumatised’ and he quit playing for the Nottingham Panthers.
Victor Bjorkung explained in an interview last month that he had struggled to come to terms with Johnson’s death.
He said: ‘I have tried to suppress a lot. You are so shocked at the moment, everything goes so damn fast.
‘One moment you have your friend there, the next second he’s gone.
‘Being on the ice when a friend I hold close dies like that. It’s terrible. It went so damn fast,’ he continued. ‘I was a few meters away from him and I have a lot of memory gaps, but I have been told that I played the puck up to him on the left wing and then it takes a few seconds before… well, everyone knows what happens after that.’
Johnson’s fiancee Ryan Wolfe also posted an emotional tribute to Johnson on social media on Thanksgiving.
Thankful for our memories and life together,’ Wolfe wrote under a snap of her kissing Johnson on the cheek.
‘Wish we could’ve had more babe. Missing you so much every single day, love you Adam.’
A man was arrested for manslaughter just over two weeks after Johnson’s passing, before he was released on bail pending further inquiries.
Neck guards will now be compulsory for all international ice hockey events from 2024 following Johnson’s death.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
