History Main / CareerEndingInjury

* Halfway through ''{{Cars}}'', Lightning discovers that Doc Hudson was actually the Fabulous Hudson Hornet, a legendary racecar. Doc ultimately explains that the only reason he "quit" racing was because he suffered a major crash during a race. By the time he could race again, the racing industry merely brushed him off without a second thought.

The injury may have started as a GameBreakingInjury. Compare WhiteDwarfStarlet and ICouldaBeenAContender, common results of this trope, SorryBillyButYouJustDontHaveLegs, where the character is disabled to start with instead of becoming so during their career. If the character overcomes the injury, either temporarily or permanently, then they're BackInTheSaddle.

* Nancy Kerrigan (figure skating): Her rival hired someone to whack Kerrigan in the knee with a pipe, hoping to break her leg & take her out of competition for the Olympics. Didn't work.
* Monica Seles (tennis): Deranged fan of a rival runs onto the court during a match and stabs her in the back of the neck. She got better.

* In ''MassEffect3'', [[CareerKiller Thane's]] terminal illness known as Kepral's Syndrome finally reaches a point where Thane can no longer reliably perform his job as an assassin. However, this doesn't stop him from [[spoiler: intervening to save the salarian Councilor when Kai Leng and Cerberus attacks, though the disease does slow him down to the point that he is badly wounded, and the injury itself will eventually kill him.]]

* A major plot point in ''ASeparatePeace''.

* In MetalGearSolidPortableOps this is given as the backstory for Lieutenant Cunningham of FOX, a CIA sponsored black ops organization, as he used to be a soldier during Vietnam but suffered an injury to his leg that required it to be amputated thus ending his career. During the story he expresses resentment towards the CIA for giving him a desk job after his injury when he used to be a distinguished warrior. A common theme in the overall story of the Metal Gear games is that soldiers are mistreated by their governments, Cunningham being downsized is viewed as another example of this ideal.

Very much a TruthInTelevision.

* In Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops this is given as the backstory for Lieutenant Cunningham of FOX, a CIA sponsored black ops organization, as he used to be a soldier during Vietnam but suffered an injury to his leg that required it to be amputated thus ending his career. During the story he expresses resentment towards the CIA for giving him a desk job after his injury when he used to be a distinguished warrior. A common theme in the overall story of the Metal Gear games is that soldiers are mistreated by their governments, Cunningham being downsized is viewed as another example of this ideal.

** Willas Tyrell, the heir to Highgarden, was a promising knight until his leg got crushed in a tournament.

Compare WhiteDwarfStarlet and ICouldaBeenAContender, common results of this trope, and SorryBillyButYouJustDontHaveLegs, where the character is disabled to start with instead of becoming so during their career. If the character overcomes the injury, either temporarily or permanently, then they're BackInTheSaddle.

* In the original timeline of ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', a car accident ends Marty's rock career before it even took off the ground.

* In the original timeline of ''BackToTheFuture'', a car accident ends Marty's rock career before it even took off the ground.

* In ''HajimeNoIppo'', Nekota was forced to give up boxing [[spoiler:after an illegal punch from his opponent resulted in permanent mid-brain damage and punch-drunk syndrome, although he experienced the symptoms of the latter before the fight (it was from a fight with his friendly rival)]].

* ''Series/{{JAG}}'' is centered on a Naval Aviator named [[Character/{{JAG}} Harmon Rabb, Jr.]] He was a carrier fighter pilot, following in his father's footsteps, until he crashed his plane in a night landing on an aircraft carrier due to an undiagnosed vision problem. In order to stay in the Navy, he went to law school and became a judge advocate (military lawyer).

* Chicago Bears player Gale Sayers had to retire after injuring first one knee (the one depected in the film ''Brian's Song'') and then the other, both injuries requiring surgery and extensive rehab.

* Chicago Bears player Gale Sayers had to retire after injuring first one knee (the one depected in the film ''BriansSong'') and then the other, both injuries requiring surgery and extensive rehab.

* [[DoctorStrange Stephen Strange]] was a gifted surgeon who lost the dexterity in his hands in a car accident. His quest for a cure eventually led him to the Ancient One, who taught him the mystic arts.

* In ''TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'', all guards share a pool of random sentences, which any of them can say. One of those is the page quote, making it sound like this is the backstory for every single guard.

A CareerEndingInjury is a sudden and unexpected injury or illness that causes a disability to a person and forces them to give up their ambitions and dreams.

* ''{{JAG}}'' is centered on a Navy aviator named Harmon Rabb. He was a career fighter pilot, following in his father's footsteps, until he crashed his plane in a night landing on an aircraft carrier due to an undiagnosed vision problem. In order to stay in the Navy, he went to law school and became an attorney with the Navy Judge Advocate General.

* In ''HajimeNoIppo'', Nekota was forced to give up boxing [[spoiler:after an illegal punch from his opponent resulted in permanent mid-brain damage and punch-drunk syndrome]].

* In the ''CaseClosed]]'' NonSerialMovie ''The Fourteenth Target'', the murderer is revealed to be [[spoiler: a sommelier whose taste buds were destroyed in an accident, taking revenge on the people who ended his career]].