A hockey player was lacerated at the upper lateral surface of the left leg, just below the knee, from an opponent's skate. Specifically the wound, which did not appear severe, occurred just below the lateral surface of the fibular head. Upon inspection, and after cleaning, the neck of the bone was visible through the broken skin. The wound was sutured and the player sat out the rest of the game.
Later in the week, the player complained that the action of his left foot had become clumsy; he found that he tripped rather consistently over ordinary avoidable objects. During the swing phase, of locomotion, he had difficulty keeping the toes from scraping the ground unless flexion of the thigh was greater than normal. When the foot approached the ground at the beginning of the stance phase, it slapped the ground, acting more like a flipper than a foot. The player could also no longer evert the foot and, when stepping on small rocks or similar items, had a tendency to lose stability of the ankle, landing on the lateral side of the foot. The resulting mechanically produced inversion caused him to repeatedly sprain the left ankle. His trainer recognized the problem and sent him back to the hospital where the injury was considered more serious than originally thought. In addition to postural and gait difficulties, neurological examination revealed loss of cutaneous sensation over the lateral aspect of the injured leg and over the dorsum of the foot. The player was put on injured reserve and later dropped from the team.
QUESTIONS