Basketball player still able to see after suffering horrific freak eye injury
Former Virginia basketball player Akil Mitchell is fortunate to have vision in his left eye after a freak injury on Thursday.
Mitchell, playing for the New Zealand Breakers, went up for a rebound in the fourth quarter and was poked in the eye by an opponent. The poke dislodged his left eye from its socket and Mitchell fell to the ground in agony. He remained on the ground for about 15 minutes, according to the Australian Associated Press. (An extremely graphic video of the injury can be seen here.)
The good news is that Mitchell’s injury is not as serious as the team initially feared. Mitchell “has vision to his injured eye,” general manager Dillon Boucher said in a statement. “While there is some damage, the early reports are very positive that the injury is not as serious as first feared.”
Mitchell also posted a lighthearted update on his condition on Twitter.
Mitchell, 24, went undrafted in 2014. He spent one season in the D-League, played last year in France and is in his first season with the Breakers.
