Jonas Nyhus Myhre didn’t even realise he had such a deep gash at first (Pictures: Lørenskog IK/Justin Feck/Aftonbladet)
A young Norwegian ice hockey player had his chest sliced open by an opponent’s skate only weeks after Adam Johnson’s death.
Jonas Nyhus Myhre, 19, who plays for a youth team from Lörenskog, Oslo, got into a scuffle with a rival player during a national league match last Thursday.
In front of nearly 500 people packing the Lørenskog Ice Rink, the Storhamar athlete’s skate struck the teen’s chest, cutting through his jersey, skin and muscle.
Having his chest ‘split in two’ felt like being ‘kicked by a horse’, Nyhus Myhre told the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, but he didn’t think much of it at first.
After playing for a few seconds during the EliteHockey Ligaen game, Nyhus Myhre lifted his shirt to his teammates only for them to see a gaping wound.
The teenager won’t be able to skate again until at least February (Picture: Lørenskog IK)
He said: ‘I had so much adrenaline that I didn’t feel it for the first few minutes.
‘But after about five minutes it started to really hurt and I couldn’t use my chest muscle.
‘I never saw the wound myself, so I pulled up the shirt and asked some teammates if it was bleeding. They had a shock reaction and immediately called for a doctor.’
Nyhus Myhre was rushed to hospital that evening, with doctors having to stitch Jonas’ skin and muscles back together.
‘I was very lucky,’ Nyhus Myhre added.
But the budding professional player will be out of the rink until at least mid-February, meaning he won’t be able to compete in the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, also known as JVM, in Sweden later this month.
Doctors had to sow the young athlete’s skin and muscle back together (Picture: Justin Feck/Aftonbladet)
‘I’ve been working for JVM all summer and now that I know I’m missing it, it feels damn boring,’ Nyhus Myhre, who also plays defence for Sparta Sarpsborg, said.
Lörenskog lost to Storhamar 3-11.
Nyhus Myhre’s injury comes after Johnson, an American hockey player, died after his neck was cut by a skate blade in October.
The Minnesota native was playing for the Nottingham Panthers in a Challenge Cup game against the Sheffield Steelers when he was injured mid-match.
Sheffield’s Utilita Arena was quickly emptied as ambulances responded to the scene.
Johnson was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. He was 29.
Adam Johnson, an American ice hockey star who played for a British team, died halfway during a match (Picture: PA)
The Panthers called Johnson’s death a ‘freak accident’.
Police in South Yorkshire arrested an unmanned man in connection to Johnson’s death last month.
He was charged with suspicion of manslaughter and later released on bail.
‘Our investigation continues and we will provide further updates as and when we can,’ the authorities said at the time.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.