Adelaide United’s Kristian Sarkies has suffered a broken leg in the National Youth League match against Perth Glory at Hindmarsh Stadium on Sunday.
It is a major blow to Adelaide United just days out from the club’s first AFC Champions League 2010 match against the Pohang Steelers on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old was stretchered from the field less than 10 minutes into the match after being on the end of a nasty challenge from Glory captain Steven Hesketh.
Sarkies, who is bound for new Hyundai A-League club Melbourne Heart when his United contract expires after the AFC Champions League Group Stage, may have played his last game for the Reds following the ugly incident.
The midfielder, who was having a run with the Youth Team on his return from a quad injury, was taken to hospital where x-rays revealed he had fractured both of the bones in his lower right leg.
“He (Sarkies) has broken both the tibia and fibula and will have surgery tomorrow afternoon to have a metal rod inserted into the tibia,” Adelaide United Club Doctor James Ilic said.
Ilic confirmed that the nature of the fractures is likely to see Sarkies sidelined for six months.
“Hopefully he will be able to resume playing sport in six months providing there are no complications,” Ilic said.
Sarkies has made 44 appearances for the Reds in all competitions since he signed in March 2007, but it has not been without interruption after he was diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis at the start of 2008 and has been hampered by soft tissue injuries for extended parts of the 2009/10 season.
