"My leg! I broke my leg," Ricky howled. He rolled around on the field.
His teammates were stunned. They did not know what to do. The coaches ran to Ricky. His brown cheeks were soaked with tears from the intense pain. They examined his injured leg. Everyone heard the snapping noise. They knew he was hurt badly.
Grandma Braun ran to the field from the quiet, surprised crowd. "Oh my goodness. How bad is it?" she asked Coach Daniels.
"It's terrible," he said. "He broke his leg. He is suffering right now. He needs to go to the hospital."
Ricky's coaches and teammates helped him to his feet. He could not walk, so the coaches carried him to Grandma Braun's car. As they carried him, they were careful not to bump his leg. He was in a lot of pain.
They carefully placed Ricky in the back seat, so he could stretch out his leg. It hurt too much to touch or to bend.
Grandma drove swiftly to the hospital. She sped the whole way because of Ricky's serious injury.
At the hospital, they met Doctor Jones. She took Ricky to get an x-ray.
The doctor looked at the film. "Ricky, you have a broken tibia," she said. "That is another name for your shin. The front part of your lower leg."
"It is all my team's fault. They didn't block for me. I have a broken shin because of them," Ricky said.
Grandma disagreed with Ricky. She asked the doctor to leave for a few minutes. When they were alone, Grandma said, "You are wrong, Ricky. You only have yourself to blame."
She explained to Ricky that it was his fault he got hurt. His bad attitude made the other Warriors angry. They were offended that Ricky said he could beat the Dragons by himself. They did not block as well as they normally did.
Doctor Jones returned to the room. She came back to explain what happened to Ricky's leg. "It seems like when you got tackled, there was too much pressure on your leg. That is how your leg became fractured."
The doctor said Ricky's leg was going to be in a cast for at least two months.
Ricky didn't understand. "But when will I be able to play football again?" he asked.
"You will not be able to play again this season," Doctor Jones said. "I am very sorry, Ricky."
Ricky could not believe what he was hearing. "But, I need to play," he said.
"You will be in a cast and on crutches. There is no way you can play this season," Doctor Jones said.
All Ricky cared about was football. His heart sunk.