New Alex Smith Doc Includes Horrifying Photo of Injured Leg Days After Surgery

In Tuesday’s Hot Clicks: Alex Smith’s gruesome leg injury, a trip through one of England’s most famous soccer stadiums and more.

It’s a miracle he still has both legs

Washington quarterback Alex Smith is a long shot to play in the NFL this season, but after seeing what his body went through two years ago you understand why he’s grateful just to be able to walk.

Smith suffered one of the worst NFL injuries in recent memory when he was sacked by J.J. Watt and Kareem Jackson in a game against the Texans in November 2018. It was a spiral and compound fracture of the right tibia and fibula. 

It’s been a long, long road to recovery for Smith, who was hospitalized for a month after the leg became infected. There was a genuine fear that the leg may have to be amputated. 

Smith’s rehab is the subject of a new installment of ESPN’s E:60, set to debut on Friday. 

Included in the documentary is a photo of what Smith’s leg looked like after surgery to repair the break led to an infection. It’s truly grotesque. It’s so stomach-churning I won’t embed it here. I’ll link to it here, but be aware that if you click on this link you’ll see a man’s leg covered in black pustules. 

The prevailing reaction after Smith said he was nearly forced to have the leg amputated and that he was “lucky to be alive” was disbelief. I know that’s what I felt. We know football is a dangerous game but aside from injuries involving the head and spine, we rarely consider the possibility that an on-field injury could be life-altering. Seeing Smith’s leg and hearing that he went into sepsis as a result of the infection spreading to his blood really puts things in perspective. 

And yet, Smith fully intends to return to the field. If he does, it’ll be a truly unbelievable achievement. 

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Around the sports world

Two people were arrested after allegedly breaking into Tennessee’s football stadium and stealing beer from the concession stands. ... MLB seems committed to having some sort of season this year. ... Matt Taven says he and a few other pro wrestlers went to the zoo owned by Tiger King subject Joe Exotic and were accused of being spies for Joe’s nemesis Carole Baskin.

How to swap a player into another jersey, as demonstrated by the Giants’ graphic designer

Ratings for ‘The Last Dance’ remained strong

pic.twitter.com/h9c0dWqKrE

— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) April 27, 2020

The draft didn’t exactly go off without a hitch

This year’s virtual draft went off without a hitch.

Well, except for that one time… pic.twitter.com/uZSCjJffHE

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 27, 2020

Through stands, up to the roof, down a ladder and you’re ready to call the game from a steel balcony

How to get to the commentary box at Goodison Park pic.twitter.com/3I3iQlLAMb

— GrandOldTeam (@grandoldteam) April 27, 2020

How cheap are the Mets? Cheap enough to take $2,250 from their lowest-paid employees

Mets employees will be taking pay cuts for the rest of the year, starting June 1. Top level employees earning $500,000 or more will receive a 30 percent pay cut. On the other end, employees earning below $45,000 will receive a 5 percent pay cut.

— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) April 28, 2020

Bring back sponsored jersey numbers

Did you know that HJK Helsinki midfielder Mika Lehkosuo used to wear the number 96.2 as he had a sponsorship deal with a local radio station of that FM frequency

In 1998 UEFA told Lehkosuo that he couldn't wear the number 96.2 but had worn it already for a few seasons pic.twitter.com/i8FXnliMpn

— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) April 27, 2020

That’s what we were all thinking, too

Watching Episode 4. Watching/Seeing MJ hold that first 🏆 damn near had me tearing up 🥺! That feeling and level of emotions is unexplainable when you been through the 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 27, 2020

Not sports

Somebody decided to invest $1,000 and make the No. 2-grossing film in the United States. ... Belgians are being encouraged to eat more fries because of a potato surplus. ... People in Sweden are getting tattoos of a prominent epidemiologist. ... A man in Tennessee broke into a house while wearing a gorilla costume and told the cops he thought he was in a different house.

I bet they’ve gone home by now

Pentagon formally releases 3 Navy videos showing "unidentified aerial phenomena" https://t.co/DNtaSBpV0q pic.twitter.com/m2l1D7a1jo

— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 27, 2020

YouTuber hacks scammers and gains access to their in-office CCTV

A weird bit of geometry makes this British intersection insanely dangerous

A good song

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