“I had flashbacks” – Former Newcastle United goalkeeper empathises with Awoniyi following bowel predicament

Former Newcastle United and Ireland goalkeeper, Shay Given, has sent his best wishes to Super Eagles and Nottingham Forest striker, Taiwo Awoniyi, after a bowel operation, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 27-year-old collided with the woodwork in Forest's 2-2 clash against Leicester City and tried to continue. Upon further checks, it was discovered that the situation was critical and he was required to undergo an emergency surgical operation on a ruptured intestine.

Awoniyi was then placed into an induced coma, which he's thankfully now out of, and he's on his way to full recovery, although it's highly unlikely he'll still play this season.

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Given had a similar issue in 2006 when he collided with ex-West Ham striker, Marlon Harewood, and the doctor who treated him revealed the effect of the collision was as though he'd been involved in a car crash.

As someone who's had his intestines go under the knife, the 42-year-old pundit sent his message of sympathy to Awoniyi and wished him a speedy recovery.

“When I heard how Awoniyi’s condition deteriorated, I started having flashbacks because it sounds like a very similar injury to the one I suffered. I just want to reach out because there is nothing more painful than what he's going through,” Given said in quotes revealed by the Mirror.

“The specialist who operated on me said the only time he had seen an injury like it was after a car crash. He said it happens when you smash into something at high speed and your ribs hit the steering wheel.

“Of course, I don’t know the full details of Taiwo's injury, but it sounds very similar in terms of it being a result of a heavy impact. I’d just like to send my best wishes to him. I just hope he gets the same outcome that I did. It took me three or four months to recover, although I still have a big scar on my stomach as a permanent reminder, it could have been a lot, lot worse.

“It was a 50-50 challenge, and Harewood came smashing into me. The ball was there to be won. There was absolutely no blame attached to him. I just thought I had been badly winded, but, unlike Taiwo, I couldn’t carry on,” the one-time English Premier League winner concluded.

Nottingham Forest are currently 7th on the English Premier League table, three points behind Manchester City. They'll take on West Ham United and Chelsea in their final two games of the season.