The USA Men’s 7s team suffered a serious blow to its season and Olympic hopes after superstar Perry Baker’s leg was broken in a tackle against Kenya on Sunday.
The Olympian and 2-time World Rugby 7’s Player of the Year is one of the most prolific 7s try scorers on the planet, so his loss will have a massive impact.
WATCH: Perry Baker’s sizzling tries
Baker’s injury came in the second half after USA were already down by a large margin. The speedster was looking to build an attack but was brought down awkwardly after having tracked down his own chip-kick. Sadly, he never got up and had to be stretchered off the pitch.
Awful injury for USA 7’s superstar Perry Baker – let’s hope he’s fit for the Olympics. Would be a lesser tournament without him 😥 pic.twitter.com/PhvO9cYXBP
— james___flynn (@jamesfl68585245) February 21, 2021
USA Rugby released a statement saying that the speedster will fly home in the next 24 hours to be fully assessed where a determination will be made on his need for surgery and additional treatment.
“Out of respect for athlete privacy, USA Rugby does not provide details regarding the exact scope and nature of player injuries.”
Head Coach Mike Friday said:
“As a pack, we will come together to do all we can to support Perry and bring him back on the pitch.”
Baker tweeted a message of thanks after the match, indicating his fighting spirit will see him return as soon as possible.
Support system is everything. Thank you all for the prayers and kind messages 🙏🏾👊🏾 pic.twitter.com/dZsecud6RI
— Perry Baker (@SpeedSt11ck) February 21, 2021
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