Newcastle United icon Alan Shearer has revealed the details of a horrific Christmas period during his playing career that saw him hospitalised with a devastating knee injury.
The Boxing Day Disaster
Shearer's nightmare unfolded on Boxing Day 1992, during his debut season with Blackburn Rovers. Having joined the club that summer for a then British record fee of £3.6 million, the striker was in sensational form, netting 22 goals in his first 26 appearances.
However, during a match against Leeds United at Ewood Park, Shearer's brilliant start was brutally cut short. After scoring twice, he went into a challenge ten minutes later and suffered a catastrophic injury to his right knee.
A Shocking Diagnosis and Medical Complications
Remarkably, Shearer did not initially understand the severity of the problem. Speaking to Team ACL, he admitted: "No, I did not know that. And I didn't know the day after the match that the ACL had been torn."
Attempting to return to training just four weeks later, his knee gave way again. It was not until 15 February 1993 – nearly two months after the initial incident – that doctors confirmed he had completely torn his anterior cruciate ligament.
The aftermath was severe. Shearer spent 10 days in hospital after the operation, battling a blood clot and an infection. Reflecting on this dark period in a 1996 interview with The Independent, he confessed to lying on the physio's table thinking: "Why me?"
"There were times when I wondered whether I'd ever play again or, if I did, whether I'd ever be as good again," Shearer revealed.
Triumphant Return and Lasting Legacy
Shearer's fears, however, proved unfounded. Upon his return to the pitch, he enjoyed the best season of his career. In the 1993-94 campaign, he scored 34 goals in 48 matches, propelling Blackburn Rovers to a second-place finish in the Premier League.
A season later, he cemented his legendary status by helping the club win the Premier League title in 1995. This triumphant comeback from a career-threatening injury solidified his reputation as one of English football's most resilient and prolific strikers.
Despite the success that followed, the memory of that brutal Christmas in 1992 remains stark. As Shearer told Betfair: "I've got good and bad memories of Christmas. In my first season at Blackburn, I was sat on 22 goals on Boxing Day, and unfortunately, I ruptured my cruciate ligament."
