Ad Disclosure
WATCH: Knoxville TV sports director suffers broken ankle during Tennessee-South Carolina game
By Keith Farner
Published:
A member of the media who covers Tennessee football suffered a serious injury during the game at South Carolina on Saturday, but Rick Russo has recovered and appears to be in good spirits.
Russo is the sports director at WVLT, the CBS affiliate in Knoxville.
During a play that ended out of bounds, Vols S Nigel Warrior pushed RB Rico Dowdle out of bounds at the end of Dowdle’s 30-yard run, and Warrior tumbled into Russo.
In a story on his station’s web site, Russo recounted the play.
“It happened so fast and in the blink of an eye, Warrior rolled up on me and sent me into a tailspin,” Russo wrote. “The initial contact was difficult, but when the dust had settled, I was lying on the turf and beginning to suspect something was very wrong with my right ankle. An ambulance ride and a few X-rays later, my fear was confirmed, I had fractured my distal fibula, at the end of one of the bones that supports my ankle joint.”
But he had an optimistic outlook, and even returned to the newsroom by Sunday morning.
“As I prepare to go on injured reserve, I can’t help but think about Tennessee’s season and how the Vols have been knocked down as well, but I believe this team is far from being out,” he wrote.
He’s back from the trip! Talking to him now. pic.twitter.com/j9ODWHpKCX
— Luke Slabaugh (@LukeSlabaugh) October 28, 2018
Video: Our @wvlt Sports Director took one for the team last night at South Carolina.
Nigel Warrior shoved Rico Dowdle out of bounds late in the game, before falling on @wvltrick’s leg.
Unfortunately, Rick has a fractured ankle 😣 We wish him a fast recovery! pic.twitter.com/8RNaY2GZPl
— Caleb Noe (@wvltCaleb) October 28, 2018
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
