Louisville guard Kevin Ware suffered one of the most gruesome injuries you'll see in sports during Sunday night's game against Duke. Ware's right tibia snapped when he landed awkwardly after going up for a block, and the ensuing scene caused players and coaches on both teams to become emotional.

Ware joins a long list of athletes who have suffered sickening injuries during sporting events. The good news for Ware is that many of these men, especially those who were in college at the time of their injury, recovered to have successful careers.

Most Sickening Sports Injuries Slideshow

 

Kevin Ware

The sophomore guard broke his right leg while landing awkwardly during Sunday's Elite Eight game against Duke. A rod was inserted into his leg during a two-hour operation Sunday night.

 

Joe Theismann

Theismann suffered a compound fracture of the tibia after being tackled by New York Giants linebackers Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson on Nov. 18, 1985. The injury ended Theismann's career.

 

Napoleon McCallum

The Oakland Raiders running back blew out his knee while being tackled during a Monday Night game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sept.5, 1994. The injury ended McCallum's career.

 

Tim Krumrie

Krumrie broke the tibia and fibula in his left leg while trying to make a tackle against the 49ers during Super Bowl XXIII. Krumrie went on to play six more years with a 15-inch steel rod in his leg.

 

Clint Malarchuk

During a game on March 22, 1989, against the skate of Blues winger Steve Tuttle caught Malarchuk on the neck and severed his carotid artery. Malarchuk played a few more seasons before retiring in 1992.

 

Buster Posey

The superstar catcher suffered a fractured fibula and torn ligaments in his ankle after a collision at the plate with Scott Cousins. The injury, which occurred on May 25, 2011, required season-ending surgery. Posey returned in 2012, leading the Giants to the World Series and winning the NL's MVP award.

 

Frank Gifford

Gifford was knocked unconscious on a vicious hit by Eagles linebacker Chuck Bednarik at Yankee Stadium on Nov. 20, 1960. The Giants running back missed an entire season, but returned as a wide receiver.

 

Ed McCaffrey

McCaffrey joins Theismann and McCallum as NFLers who've suffered gruesome injuries on Monday Night Football. The Denver Broncos wide receiver fractured his leg in a game against the New York Giants on Sept. 10, 2001. He played two more years before retiring.

 

Dave Dravecky

Dravecky, who had a tumor removed from his pitching arm in 1988, collapsed during a game one year later after his humorous bone snapped. As it turned out, Dravecky's cancer had returned. He retired 18 days after suffering the injury.

 

Tyrone Prothro

Prothro fractured his left tibia and fibula when he came down awkwardly after trying to catch a pass against the Florida Gators on October 1, 2005. Even after several surgeries, Prothro was forced to stop playing football.

 

Michael Bush

Bush broke his right tibia during Louisville's first game of the 2006 season. He missed the rest of the season and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft.

 

Willis McGahee

Along with Krumrie's broken leg, McGahee's injury is one of the worst to occur during a championship game. The Miami Hurricanes running back tore all three ligaments in his left knee during a tackle in the 2003 BCS national championship game. He recovered fully and has enjoyed a solid NFL career.

 

Richard Zedník

Two decades after Malarchuk's neck injury in Buffalo, Zedník suffered a similar fate during a game against Buffalo. Teammate Olli Jokinen tripped and cut Zedník's external carotid artery. Zednik played one more year in the NHL.

 

Steve Moore

Moore fractured three neck vertebrae and a concussion after being punched and tackled during a March 8, 2004, game by Todd Bertuzzi. The injury ended Moore's career.

 

Rudy Tomjanovich

During a fight between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers in a Dec. 9, 1977, game, Tomjanovich took a punch from Kermit Washington. The blow shattered Tomjanovich's jaw and face, and he was out five months while he recovered. Tomjanovich retired four years later.

 

Evander Holyfield

In the infamous "Bite Fight" on June 28, 1997, Mike Tyson bit Holyfield's right ear and tore into the flesh. Then, later in the fight, Tyson bit into Holyfield's other ear. After it was discovered that Holyfield's left ear also had bite marks, Tyson was immediately disqualified.

 

Tim Sylvia

While attempting to escape a hold, Sylvia snapped his right radius bone several inches below the elbow. Despite protests from Sylvia, who claimed his arm was not broken, the fight was immediately stopped.

 

Marcus Lattimore

Lattimore tore all three ligaments in his right leg during a game against Tennessee on Oct. 27, 2012. He appears to have made a full recovery, and will likely be selected in the 2013 NFL Draft.

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