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A picture has been posted on Twitter showing what David Busst's leg looks like today, nearly two decades after the sickening collision at Old Trafford that ended his career.

The defender was part of the Coventry City side that lined up against Manchester United in a Premier League fixture on April 8, 1996.

Just two minutes into the match, having ventured forward after his team won a corner, Busst collided with United players Denis Irwin and Brian McClair, suffering extensive compound fractures to both the tibia and fibula of his right leg.

WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT 

The horrific image of David Busst's leg as it looks today that was posted on Twitter by talkSPORT presenter Andy Goldstein. After suffering a severe leg break in the collision, the Coventry defender contracted MRSA in hospital, stripping away his leg muscle

Goldstein also posted a video clip of Busst's leg scars after his appearance on his talkSPORT show on Friday

The awful moment in 1996 when Busst is caught between Manchester United players Denis Irwin (left) and Brian McClair (right), causing a compound fracture to both the tibia and fibula of his right leg

The match was delayed for nine minutes while Busst was carried from the field on a stretcher while water and sand had to be used to clean his blood from the pitch.

United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel reputedly vomited on the pitch after seeing the injury and required counselling afterwards along with a number of other players present. 

Recalling the moment at Old Trafford on talkSPORT, Busst said: 'I was on the pitch 87 seconds when I got injured.

'Irwin came off the post I think and McClair came from behind and in that split second it was just the impact of two forces, one going one way and one going the other way.

'I knew something serious had happened; something wasn't in the place it should have been. I could see from the reaction of people around me. I'll never forget Dion Dublin, he was just bent down with his hand on his head, the look of horror in his eyes.

'They would have seen my right shin coming up at an 'L' shape when it should have been straight down.

'I didn't look down, you go into shock mode. The pain is excruciating. You freeze. You think any movement will make it worse. 

'I saw the physio come on and then they called for the Man United physio to come on and then the doctors to come on. I hadn't passed out.' 

Busst lies stricken as Peter Schmeichel throw the ball out and Dion Dublin looks on in horror 

Busst received nine minutes of treatment on the Old Trafford pitch before being taken off on a stretcher

The Coventry City defender required 26 operations and retired from the game shortly afterwards

English player Busst required 26 operations to fix his leg, his recovery complicated when he contracted MRSA in hospital, causing further damage to the tissue and muscle around the injured part of his leg.

On medical advice, Busst announced his retirement from football on November 6, 1996. 

His testimonial match, against Manchester United on May 16, 1997, featured Paul Gascoigne and Les Ferdinand, and was Eric Cantona's last match for the Old Trafford club.

A photograph and video of the scars - how they look now - was tweeted by talkSPORT presenter Andy Goldstein over the weekend after the former player appeared as a guest on his Sports Bar show on Friday night.

Busst, now 48, is the director of Coventry's Football in the Community programme, something he has been involved with since 1997, and he spoke of the freak incident that ended his professional career.

He has since completed his UEFA coaching badges and has managed in non-League football with Solihull Borough and Evesham United.   

Speaking on talkSPORT, Busst said: 'I've always been open talking about it. Whether it's in my day-to-day job, people in the community, Coventry fans, it's kind of what I'm known for. I don't mind.'

Recalling the aftermath of the freak collision, Busst said: 'Anyone who has been to Old Trafford, it's brilliant because the ambulance comes straight onto the pitch. 

'But Man United have the biggest speed bumps outside their ground, I was on gas and air at that time and it wasn't helping whatsoever. Up, down, up, down. That was the funny thing about it.' 

Busst was challenging for the ball from a corner in the second minute of the Premier League game 

This photograph clearly shows how Busst's leg became bent at a 90 degree angle after the impact

Busst was carried off on a stretcher and taken straight to hospital, where he required 26 operations

Upon arrival at hospital, Busst repeatedly went under the knife in order that surgeons could save his leg.

He said: 'I went down and they were going to operate straight away. But they delayed because we'd had a pre-match lunch. 

'They wanted to do the operation with me conscious because I'd had the food beforehand. But I just said 'No, just put me out and do whatever you've got to do.'

'I always remember it because Cantona went and scored at Old Trafford and one of the porters came jumping up and down shouting 'yes, yes, yes' and then they put me under.

'I had to have the kit cut off me. I always remember them having to remove my boot, my sock and my shinpad and I was awake for that.

'I was in a lot of pain. It was like it had exploded, I had to have the muscle down the side slit open. I was in between an orthopedic surgeon for the break and a plastic surgeon for the damage.

'I had to have what they call a fasciotomy - there was no blood supply to the open wound so they had to peel off the back of my calf, twist it 45 degrees to provide a blood supply to the bone so it would get better.' 

Busst had a testimonial match a few months later as Coventry played Manchester United 

But that was only the start of the complications as Busst contracted the deadly MRSA virus while in the hospital.

He recalled: 'In the first 12 days, I had 10 operations. The trouble was I contracted MRSA when I was in there. The thing that stopped me playing was not the break. A lot of the operations were to clean the wound, flush it all out and hopefully it would start healing itself.

'MRSA is a killer bug that stops things from healing and I was due to have a massive operation where they were due to take a muscle out of my back and putting that in to create a fresh blood supply.

'But by some miracle on the day I was meant to have it, I'd had an epidural in my back, and they said that when I woke up there would be a whole team of people around you. 

'But when I came round, there was no one there and they said it had started to heal so we didn't do the operation.' 

It would take Busst another six months before he felt confident enough to put pressure on the leg.

He added: 'The MRSA had affected all the muscles and the tendons so I was left with the one big tendon that pulls your big toe up, but I'd lost four of them. About a year to 18 months later, the best operation I had was on that big tendon that keeps the ankle at 90 degrees.

'I've actually got a drop foot and that's what stopped me playing. I can't pull my toes up but I can push them down. The surgeons I had then were unbelievable.'

There was a genuine concern the leg would be amputated

'After three or four weeks, when they were talking about the operation where I was going to have the muscle out my back and he was saying if it doesn't start to heal it isn't a question of whether you'll walk again but whether we can save the leg from the knee down,' Busst revealed.

'I'd had a big six-inch pin nailed into it but that got infected and that had to be removed as well after three months.' 

Busst recalled with warmth the Manchester United players who took the time to come and visit him.

'Steve Bruce and his son Alex, who was eight years old, came in. Ryan Giggs came to see me.

'After about 4-5 weeks I was able to go out to a hotel with my family and I got a call from downstairs saying there was a Manchester United fan who wanted to come up and see me.

'This young lad in a baseball cap came up and I said "hi, I'm Dave Busst" and he said "I'm David Beckham".

'I went "oh God I'm so sorry, they said it was just a fan down in the lobby". He wasn't as famous as he is now.'

Despite all the problems, Busst still plays the game: 'After a couple of years I was a a bit wary of it, I started doing slight exercises, running again, playing five-a-side. I started to get more confident and played over-35s football. 

'When I play, I go in for challenges and my Dad absolutely cringes!'