FA Cup quarter-finals: Former Coventry City defender David Busst on the injury that shocked football

"Dion Dublin was on his haunches with a gasped look on his face," recalls David Busst. "People told me Peter Schmeichel was physically sick on the pitch. I was lying there thinking 'somebody help me'."

Home supporters are in high spirits for the visit of struggling Coventry City but just 87 seconds after kick-off the mood inside Old Trafford changes.

The 50,332 fans fall silent after one of the most sickening injuries of the Premier League era.

A header by Coventry's Noel Whelan is parried by goalkeeper Schmeichel into the path of defender Busst at the far post.

"It landed perfectly for me inside the six-yard box," Busst tells BBC Sport. "I go for the ball and the next thing I'm lying flat on my back.

"I must have been in shock because I was in this enormous pain and I didn't want to move."

Schmeichel, who had saved Busst's attempt, could not bear to look and covered his face with his gloves after throwing the ball out of play so his stricken opponent could receive immediate treatment.

Busst's right leg had been shattered in an unintentional collision with United's Denis Irwin and Brian McClair, who were trying to prevent the shot.

McClair held his opponent's hand to comfort him as medical staff from both benches rushed on to the pitch.

Play was stopped for nine minutes so Busst, who had joined Coventry from non-league Moor Green four years earlier, could be carried away on a stretcher, while blood from his open wound was cleaned off the grass using water and sand.

Players from both sides were visibly shaken while Busst's father, John, and brother, Paul, were at Old Trafford and watched in horror as the drama unfolded.

"I couldn't hear 50,000 fans applauding me above the noise of my own screams," says Busst, who was 28 at the time.

He never played professional football again.

'More fan mail than Take That'

Twenty-eight years on from the injury which saw him suffer compound fractures to both the tibia and fibula, the scars on Busst's leg are a visible reminder of the awful events of 8 April 1996.

"Fans still come up to me and say 'I was at Old Trafford that day'," he says. "I get asked about it a lot on matchdays."

Graphic images of the horrific leg fracture, when Busst's leg bent back at a 90 degree-angle, appeared in newspapers around the world.

Yet it was not the injury that ended his career.

"I might have been back playing at some level if it had just been the fractures," Busst adds. " Sadly, I got MRSA through the open wound and that was my actual downfall."

In total, Busst had 22 operations over three years, including 10 in the 12 days after the game.

He even remembers a chilling discussion with senior doctors about amputating the damaged leg.

"I cannot stress how bad the infection was," he says. "The infection stopped anything from healing. That [amputation] was a real threat."

Busst had months and months of treatment, including six weeks in hospital in Manchester. There were operations to put pins in, operations to take them out, as well as skin grafts.

He was visited by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, captain Steve Bruce, as well as David Beckham and Ryan Giggs, while a testimonial at Highfield Road - Coventry's former home - 13 months after the injury attracted a sell-out 23,000 crowd and featured Eric Cantona and Paul Gascoigne.

Busst estimates he received 4,000 letters and cards from well-wishers around the world in the weeks and months after the injury.

"Take That had split up earlier the same year and people joked I received more letters than they did," he laughs.

"Seriously, in the dark days after the injury I would read the letters and they would help lift my spirits.

"I used to think about the injury all the time. Now it's less and less. My outlook on life is one of positivity. I'd rather have had five minutes of playing in the Premier League than not playing in the Premier League at all."

Although he never played professionally again, Busst's leg has healed sufficiently enough for him to kick a ball with his mates.

He keeps fit by making appearances for Leamington Veterans, an over-35s team which also features former Coventry striker Dele Adebola.

"That joy of playing football at any level is still in me. I find it easier to run than walk these days."

'I can never thank Coventry enough'

Despite the injury, Coventry City have remained a huge part of Busst's life.

Having taken up a role with the club's football in the community programme after his playing career was cut short, Busst, 56, has served the Sky Blues for more than half his life.

Championship club Coventry, who were playing in League Two as recently as 2018, missed out on a place in the Premier League after losing a penalty shootout against Luton at Wembley last May.

Despite that bitter disappointment, there is a feel-good factor sweeping the club under Mark Robins with the Sky Blues once again challenging for a place in the play-offs.

Average gates increased from 9,000 when Robins took charge for a second time in 2017 to just short of 25,000 this season.

"That doesn't happen overnight," adds Busst, head of Sky Blues in the Community.

It was Busst's community team that played a vital role in maintaining a presence in Coventry when the club played home games 20 miles away at Birmingham City because of a dispute.

Now back in their city, the Sky Blues - FA Cup winners in 1987 - are making strides on and off the pitch.

Not only do they sit eighth in the Championship, they face Premier League Wolves in the FA Cup on Saturday for a semi-final place.

"Coventry have been such an unbelievable support for me," adds Busst. "I can never thank the club and the fans enough for how they helped me rebuild my life."