Matthew Hayden 'dodged a bullet' after horror surfing accident
Australian cricketing great Matthew Hayden says he “dodged a bullet” after a surfing accident on Stradbroke Island left him with a fractured neck.
The 46-year-old says he’s suffered a fractured C6 vertebrae and torn ligaments in the accident, which occurred while surfing with his teenage son Josh.
“Ok. Last attention seeking post I promise,” Hayden wrote on Instagram on Sunday night.
“Just wanted to say a big thank you to all our mates on Straddie who have been so supportive.
“Especially Ben & Sue Kelley for the fast diagnosis with MRI, CT scan. Fractured C6, torn C5, C4 ligaments safe to say I truly have dodged a bullet.
“Thank you everyone. On the road to recovery.”
It capped a bad weekend for Hayden, who earlier had posted a photo of two nasty abrasions on his forehead caused by an earlier fall.
“Took on Straddie back bank yesterday with @josh_hayden28 and lost!!!” he wrote
“Game over for a few days.”
It’s not the first time the former cricketer has run into difficulties in the waters around Stradbroke Island. In 1999 Hayden, team-mate Andrew Symonds, and a friend were forced to swim about a kilometre to safety after their boat capsized and sank.
Hayden played the last of his 103 Tests in 2009, finishing with 8,625 runs at 50.73. He still holds the highest score by an Australian of 380.
