Will Edwards' right ankle went "sideways" as he landed from a marking contest in the final quarter, leaving the Sydney defender writhing in pain and requiring a motorised stretcher. Blood was also pouring from the side of his head in the gruesome incident.
The match resumed after a stoppage of close to 10 minutes, with the crowd giving Edwards a standing ovation as he was taken off. The Swans had already lost James Rowbottom to a suspected fractured hand, while Jack Silvagni dislocated his shoulder and Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera also went down with a leg issue.
Horror injury for Edwards
Edwards, 23, flew high for a mark but landed badly. Speaking on Fox Footy, Jason Dunstall said: "That's gone sideways, that's broken. That is a nasty one." The defender was given a green whistle for pain relief.
"I saw it on the screen, it was disgusting," Sydney forward Chad Warner said. "I think in those moments you just come together and we wanted to do it for him in the end, and he got us over the line." Isaac Heeney added: "That's one of the grossest ones I've seen."
Edwards only made his debut this year after recovering from a broken leg and a serious infection that threatened his career.
Swans' comeback win
The second-placed Swans trailed at every break before storming home with seven goals in the final term to win 16.11 (107) to 13.10 (88) at Marvel Stadium. They had trailed by nine points at quarter-time and 13 at halftime.
Errol Gulden finished with 34 disposals and a goal, while Logan McDonald booted four goals. Heeney had just seven touches at half-time while tagged by Hugh Boxshall, but goaled either side of the main break to help cut the gap to five points.
St Kilda responded with the next three goals, but the Swans trimmed the deficit to 12 points when Gulden converted a free kick after the three-quarter-time siren. Sydney then won the last term 7.3 to 2.2, with McDonald's fourth goal, Billy Cootee's major and Tom Papley's brilliant groundball gather putting them in front.
Wanganeen-Milera shook off a hip concern from the Edwards collision to finish with 24 touches and three goals for St Kilda, while Max Hall had 23 disposals and three majors. Charlie Curnow, blanketed by Silvagni for much of the day, kicked three goals with the final two coming after Silvagni left the field.
Silvagni came off in the last quarter with a dislocated shoulder and was later seen in the rooms with his arm in a sling and the green whistle.
Rowbottom's frustration
Rowbottom was ruled out early in the first quarter after an innocuous incident, leaving the midfielder dejected on the sidelines. "James Rowbottom is clearly not happy with a hand injury," Fox Footy's Sarah Jones reported. "He's had a cuddle from Errol Gulden; he's really struggling."
Rowbottom had played every game this season and was coming off a strong performance against the Giants with 23 touches, 11 tackles and two goals. — With AAP
