Nothing changes the landscape of pro sports like an injury to your team’s best player. And with the proliferation of fantasy leagues in all of the major pro sports, even more casual fans are concerned with injuries to our top athletes.

Bottom line, it’s not fun for anyone when a top pro athlete gets injured. But while some injuries derail a season or even a career, there are others that rock the sports world completely.

Here are three recent injuries to pro athletes that had Twitter afire, sports pundits gasping for air, and fans scrambling for news and updates. These injuries rocked the pro sports world!

Lebron James - Groin Injury

Lebron James has been at the epicenter of the sports world almost constantly during his 18 years as a pro. And during that time he has enjoyed almost superhuman durability.

In fact, Lebron didn’t suffer a major injury during his entire incredible run as a pro. He did break his wrist and miss some playing time— but that was in high school, almost 20 years ago!

However, during a 2018-2019 season plagued with missteps and misadventures by a Lakers squad that even the most die-hard fan would agree was poorly assembled, Lebron had to cope with all kinds of travails. One of these was injury.

James was forced to sit out 17 games in December and January. The cause: a strained left groin. The injury sapped the life out of Lakers squad who was expected to contend, but dealt with injuries and instability all season long.

The team eventually missed the playoffs, something that the NBA’s king of hoops is not accustomed to.

Luckily for James, he is fully healed from the injury. More good news: the Lakers added transcended talent Anthony Davis to their roster. Although the 2018-2019 season was a wash, this coming year looks bright for the purple and gold.

Zion Williamson - Bruised Knee

Next up we have Zion Williamson, the heir apparent to Lebron. Since bursting onto the scene as a high school phenom with jaw-dropping jumping ability and a hard-not-to-like personality, Zion is so fun to watch that he achieved the impossible: turning us all into fans of Duke basketball for a year!

When Zion’s shoe blew out on him during the NCAA season, the sports world gasped. It looked like a recipe for an ACL tear, exactly what young players hope to avoid as they rise up the pro ranks and have to deal with more rigorous playing schedules.

Luckily for Zion (and for Nike), the injury turned out to be a minor setback. In fact, Zion recently signed with Nike offshoot Jordan Brand in a huge shoe deal that will see him wearing Jordan kicks for the foreseeable future. So, that’s all good.

But that wasn’t the only Zion almost-injury to rock the sports world! After being drafted number one (who saw that coming?) by the New Orleans Pelicans, the Zion NBA Experience opened to a packed house during NBA summer league in Las Vegas. During a bizarre night that also featured an earthquake that shook the arena, fans were also treated to the a couple of earthquaking jams by the young phenom— before he bumped knees with an opponent and limped off the court.

Once again, we all gasped at the horrible prospect of Zion being out for the extended time. And when I say we, I include the Pelicans, obviously.

Post-incident, Zion was fine. But after the scare, the Pels decided they had seen enough. They shut down Zion, letting him relax on the bench for the remainder of summer league, rather than risk him getting hurt more seriously. Not a bad idea, if you ask us.

Alex Smith - Leg Injury

In November of 2018, Washington Redskins QB Alex Smith had one of those leg injuries that you just hate hate hate to see. Many people thought it may be a career-ender.

And although Smith has dealt with his share of challenges since the injury happened, he seems to have that warrior spirit that we see often around these parts in our top female ski racers, who are almost constantly battling back from major injuries.

Alex Smith’s Injury - What Happened?

Smith broke his tibia and fibula during a game against the Houston Texans in November. The injury is in that category of “horrible gruesome sports injuries” that include the infamous Joe Theismann leg injury and the similar (though non-contact) injury to Gordon Hayward of the Boston Celtics a couple of years ago.

To make matters worse, Smith reportedly suffered an infection that complicated his recovery.

Although this injury (thankfully) doesn’t happen that often, in the world we live in here in Vail, we do see them occasionally when skiers hit objects. (You know, like trees.) Luckily, as orthopaedic trauma surgeons, we are well-equipped to deal with this sort of injury, even though we truly hate to se it.

Will Alex Smith Play This Year?

Unfortunately, Smith will be out for the entire 2019-2020 season. But hopefully he will be able to fully heal from the injury and get back to what he does best- quarterbacking an NFL Team.

You don’t have to be a pro to get injured! Find out more about Dr. Sterett here: www.drsterett.com