Sounders Steve Zakuani’s Leg Gruesomely Snapped by Vicious Tackle

Sounders midfielder Steve Zakuani was dribbling innocuously up the left sideline, in his own half, early in the third minute of Friday night’s game at Colorado, when the Rapids’ Brian Mullan raced towards him and slid into Zakuani at full speed. Zakuani’s right foot was caught beneath Mullan’s body, so his lower leg caught the force of the impact which broke his right fibula and tibia–a.k.a. Zakuani’s entire right lower leg.

Zakuani, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was the Sounders’ first-ever draft pick. He’s started 57 of a possible 64 MLS games. Other than Fredy Montero, no Sounder has scored more goals.

I was watching at the Owl & Thistle downtown, where the video replay of the tackle’s aftermath caused a bar-wide “Ugggh.” As Zakuani rolled to the ground after the tackle, you could clearly see the lower part of his leg flopping at a nausea-inducing angle.

“That was a dirty tackle,” Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer said after the game. “There was absolutely no reason to crush him like that. It’s my hope that he’ll be heavily punished.”

Mullan’s tackle (video here, at the :15 mark does not include any gruesomeness) earned him an immediate red card. After the game, Mullan showed no remorse, saying: “It’s a tackle that I’ve done hundreds of times and would probably do again.”

No less biased a source than Sounders coach Sigi Schmid seemed to condone Mullan’s action, saying: “I’ve coached Brian Mullan. No player goes into a tackle like that trying to hurt a player like that deliberately. He’s an aggressive player and it happens.”

UPDATE: Major League Soccer suspended Mullan for 10 games and fined him $5,250, the stiffest penalty for a tackle in league history.

Dirty tackle or no, Zakuani left the field on a stretcher, with his leg in an air cast. He had successful surgery in Denver last night. He won’t return to Seattle until next week–compound, open fractures like this carry a severe risk of infection.

As word spread around the soccer community, Zakuani received tweets of support from U.S. National Team members Landon Donovan and Jozy Altidore. Also Charlie Davies, who knows a thing or two about recovering from career-threatening injuries.

Even the Timbers Army wishes Zakuani well.

If you want to send your own thought to Zakuani, the Sounders suggest several methods to do so.

The Sounders won the game 1-0, Fredy Montero getting the goal on a gorgeous pass from Mauro Rosales. The team’s next game is Saturday at Qwest Field, and I suspect the various Sounders fan groups are already planning tributes for Zakuani.