GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: See the moment Hawks star Chad Wingard ‘severed his TONGUE’ in gruesome accident that left him needing surgery
- Wingard did not return after sickening injury
- Has returned to Melbourne to have operation
- Came during shattering two-point loss to GWS
Hawthorn star Chad Wingard has a lacerated tongue and needs surgery after the Hawks’ AFL loss to GWS.
Wingard was taken to hospital after halftime of Sunday’s game at Norwood Oval after suffering the gruesome injury.
He was scheduled to fly back to Melbourne on Sunday night with team support staff and have the operation.
‘That sounds horrible to me,’ Hawks coach Sam Mitchell said.
‘I can imagine it’s not feeling great for him … lacerated tongue surgery sounds nasty to me.’
Wingard was left bleeding profusely from the mouth after his third-quarter tackle went wrong
The Hawks star suffered the shocking cut when he tried to tackle a Giants player in the third term and his head collided with his opponent’s back, making him bite through his tongue.
Blood was flowing freely from his mouth as he was taken off the ground immediately.
‘He’s actually severed the tongue a fair bit … they need to stitch that and he’s out for the game,’ Channel Seven’s Mark Soderstrom explained.
Former Hawthorn star turned commentator Shaun Burgoyne added, ‘From what I gather, he doesn’t wear a mouthguard.
‘If you’re going to sever your tongue, it means you’re biting your tongue.’
Harry Himmelberg’s AFL free agency price rose several notches after he won the match for GWS against Hawthorn and then saved it as well.
The Giants key forward, who is a restricted free agent at the end of this season, was the hero at Norwood Oval on Sunday as they won 10.17 (77) to 11.9 (75).
The Hawks star was taken to Melbourne for surgery after partially severing his tongue when he bit down on it in his side’s nail-biting two-point loss on Sunday
The injury to Wingard – seen chasing down GWS star Tom Green during their Gather Round clash – sounded ‘horrible’ to his coach, Sam Mitchell
He took a soaring mark and kicked a goal at 28 minutes into the last quarter, putting the Giants in front by three points.
Three minutes later, Hawks forward Jarman Impey launched a long bomb from 50m and Himmelberg had stationed himself in defence to help preserve their thin lead.
He was on the goal line and as the ball went through, managed to make contact.
After a few anxious moments, the score review ruled it was a touched behind.
Fellow key forward Jesse Hogan also took a strong mark from the kickout and a minute after Impey went so close to replacing Himmelberg as the match winner, the final siren went.
‘He has capabilities at both ends of the ground, so he’s perfectly suited,’ said coach Adam Kingsley.
‘In the same breath, he won us the game, he saved us the game too. It’s a pretty special effort … but we know he doesn’t have those opportunities without his teammates.’
With Himmelberg yet to decide what happens at the end of the year, Kingsley made it clear the swingman is a big part of their plans.
‘He’s a really important cog to what we want to build. Whether that’s forward or back, we have that luxury with his capacity to play at both ends,’ he said.