FOOTBALL star Ion Nicolaescu’s eye appeared to pop out after he blew his nose during a game.
The Moldovan striker was left with a shiner under his right eye following a collision with a rival player in Heerveen’s Dutch cup clash with Quick Boys.
Nicolaescu didn’t look to be bothered by the heavy blow, shrugging it off before play got back underway.
But he made the mistake many boxers and MMA fighters know not to make when they suffer damage around their orbital bone.
The 26-year-old decided to blow his nose, a decision which made it look like his eyeball had POPPED OUT of its socket.
The blowing of the nose prompted Nicolasescu’s eyeball to shoot up towards the outer rim of his orbital bone.
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Online would-be medics claimed the freak injury was due to air being trapped under the skin from the earlier blow and being forced up when he blew his nose.
Nicolaescu briefly appeared to be in discomfort, touching his now bulging eyebrow as he casually ran back into position.
He didn’t know it at the time, but his sneeze left him looking like he’d gone 12 rounds with a prime Mike Tyson.
Footage of the incident went viral on social media and left footie fans absolutely stunned.
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One wrote on X: “WTF? Look what happens to Nicolaescu’s eye after blowing his nose.”
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Another said: “Yuck.”
And another said: “Doctor should keep an eye on things here.”
One remarked: “Oh s**t. That must hurt?!
Another chimed in with a diagnosis, saying: ” I am going for a blowout fracture of the medial orbital wall with intraorbital emphysema.”
The severity of Nicolasescu’s injury is currently unknown.
Heerenveen were dumped out of the tournament by Quick Boys courtesy of a shock 3-2 defeat to the amateur side.
Manager Robin van Persie said of the defeat: “In the first half we were too flat, they surprised us too often on the counter.
“We started the second half well. With the last goal, we lost the ball too easily, which allowed a cross to be given.
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“Those balls are difficult to defend. This is painful.”
Heereveen will look to bounce back from their embarrassing exit this afternoon against Dutch giants Ajax.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
