History Main / CareerEndingInjury

* The eponymous Roy Race in the British (association) football strip Roy of the Rovers was forced to end his playing career after a helicopter crash that cost him his left foot.

* In ''VideoGame/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. An alternate line spoken by a Stormcloak soldier is that he took a sword to the chest which forced an end to his adventuring career.

* Alex Zanardi, former FormulaOne and IndyCar racing driver, lost both his legs in a [[http://youtu.be/KysP71KKzIc horrific crash]] that nearly killed him. He made the best of it and started a new career as a Paralympic athlete, winning two medals at handcycling during the London 2012 Paralympics.

* Such injuries happen often in ProfessionalWrestling: Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, Wrestling/TedDiBiase, {{Wrestling/Edge}}, Darren Drozdov, and Hayabusa are just some, and then there are the injuries that weren't only career-ending, but [[FatalMethodActing life-ending]].
** Wrestling/{{Lita}} was a subversion, though. Her career-ending injury came not in the ring, but while filming an episode of ''Series/DarkAngel'', where she broke her neck while shooting a stunt.

* Alex Zanardi, former FormulaOne and IndyCar racing driver, lost both his legs in a [[http://youtu.be/KysP71KKzIc horrific crash]] that nearly killed him. He made the best of it and started a new career as a Paralympic athlete, winning two medals at handcycling during the London 2012 Paralympics. He's still got ambitions of driving competitively again too, and given the grit he's shown since it would be brave to bet against him, so expect him to become a subversion at some point in the future.

* A lot of dancers tend to become actors or similar performers later on due to accidents.
** Creator/SummerGlau, for instance, got her start as an actress after a broken toe forced her to put her career as a ballerina on hold.

* Alex Zanardi, former FormulaOne and IndyCar racing driver lost both his legs in a [[http://youtu.be/KysP71KKzIc horrific crash]] that nearly killed him. He made the best of it and started a new career as a Paralympic athlete, winning two medals at handcycling during the London 2012 Paralympics. He's still got ambitions of driving competitively again too, and given the grit he's shown since it would be brave to bet against him, so expect him to become a subversion at some point in the future.

* Roy Horn, of the stage magician duo Siegfried and Roy, got infamously mauled by a white tiger during a show on October 3, 2003. Their show, until then one of the most successful in Las Vegas' history, came to an immediate halt.

* ''VarsityBlues'' had its main plot kick off with one of these, with the star Quarterback suffering a knee injury in this form. It's later revealed that [[spoiler: he'd sustained a ''lot'' of knee injuries, but Coach Klimer had talked him out of getting it treated by a doctor and instead gave him shots of painkillers so he could continue playing]].

* ''VarsityBlues'' had its main plot kick off with one of these, with the star Quarterback suffering a knee injury in this form. Its later revealed that [[spoiler: he'd sustained a ''lot'' of knee injuries, but Coach Klimer had talked him out of getting it treated by a doctor and instead gave him shots of painkillers so he could continue playing]].

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' has a unique variant for the shinigami. If their blade is damaged or destroyed while in its Bankai state, it will be permanently weakened. Depending on the damage suffered it may be partially repaired or the damage worked around, but the shinigami will never be as strong as they were.
** Though, as of current chapters, there are workarounds for this. And if the user and bankai are deeply connected (ed. Kommamura) the bankai can heal/repair as the master heals.

* [[Comicbook/Spider-Man Curt Connors]] was a battlefield surgeon with the US Army before losing his right arm to an explosion, which lead to him becoming a scientist trying to re-generate his arm and eventually turning into the Lizard.

** Similarly, in the NonSeiralMovie ''Captured in her eyes'' the culprit is [[spoiler: a surgeon who had the tendons of his right hand ''intentionally'' severed by a jealous colleague during a surgery. He switched to become a therapist, but later killed the one who ruined his career... and others who either were involved or found out... and his last target is Ran, who witnessed one of his murders.]]

** One of the more horrific injuries was SidVicious' [[http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DUOSYcM4AJ8k&sa=U&ei=yCi3UYiONqWz0QGkvoD4CA&ved=0CCgQtwIwBA&usg=AFQjCNHH6jd63K8T-jreKP-qquGSaBQV1g compound fracture]]. For the squeamish, it was a small jump off the 2nd turnbuckle to deliver a one-footed kick to ScottSteiner, but his left foot landed wrong, resulting in his shin breaking bad enough that his boot was hanging at an obtuse angle.

** One of the more horrific injuries was SidVicious' [[http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DUOSYcM4AJ8k&sa=U&ei=yCi3UYiONqWz0QGkvoD4CA&ved=0CCgQtwIwBA&usg=AFQjCNHH6jd63K8T-jreKP-qquGSaBQV1g compound fracture]]. For the squeamish, it was a small jump off the 2nd turnbuckle, but his left foot landed wrong, resulting in his shin breaking bad enough that his boot could hang at an acute angle to his leg.

* In one the most well-known examples from the [[UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball NFL]], Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theisman was forced to retire after a Monday Night Football game in 1985. On a failed attempt to trick the New York Giants' defense, Theisman was sacked by all-pro linebacker Lawrence Taylor. As Taylor forced Theisman to the ground, his knee came down on Theisman's leg and snapped the tibia and fibula. While this incident helped cement Taylor's fearsome reputation, Taylor himself was clearly horrified and called for medical assistance for Theisman the moment he realized what had happened.

->''[[MemeticMutation I used to be an adventurer like you. Then I took an arrow in the knee.]]''
-->'''Guards from ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'''''

* Shotglass, the bartender from the first WingCommander game, used to be a pilot before he got shot up so bad he couldn't fly. Serving drinks is his way of continuing to do his bit.

* Ballistic of ''Cyberforce'' was the ace pitcher of her state champion high school baseball team (yes, playing with and against boys). She was likely bound for the big leagues, until an abusive boyfriend left her with a paralyzed throwing arm.