Yahoo Finance Fluky March Madness injury leaves Florida player bloody, staggering to locker room
Florida guard Tyree Appleby took a vicious, accidental elbow to the face in the first game of the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, and had to be helped to the locker room with a towel over his face stemming blood.
Appleby was guarding Virginia Tech's Keve Aluma, and tried to go for a steal as Aluma threw a cross-court pass. Aluma's elbow struck Appleby square in the face.
GOOD LORD! Tyree Appleby took a NASTY elbow to the head and was leaking blood! 😖😖 pic.twitter.com/rDjD1dhE3e
— 🌹🏆 (@RespectDaBeard1) March 19, 2021
Appleby staggered a few steps up the court, then collapsed to the ground with blood already dripping from his face, onto the floor. Trainers and head coach Mike White rushed to attend to him.
Oh man. Tyree Appleby takes a brutal (inadvertent) elbow to the nose. Prayers for him. 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/NPiC5mC6d9
— CBB Talk (@CBBSuperFan) March 19, 2021
After a few minutes, he was helped off the court and back to the locker room, with his arms around trainers and a towel over his face. The game resumed after blood was cleaned off the floor.
According to a program spokesman, Appleby sustained a forehead laceration, and received stitches in the locker room. He returned to the bench during overtime, but did not return to the game, and had a bandage over the cut.
Florida won in overtime without him, and advanced to the second round to play either No. 2 seed Ohio State or No. 15 seed Oral Roberts.
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