Incredible yet relieving scenes from the Ukrainian Premier League today saw a potentially tragic situation turn to heroics.
After taking a vicious yet inadvertent knee to the head in the 20th minute, Ukrainian international and Dynamo Kiev captain Oleg Gusev lay unconscious on the ground.
Reacting immediately to the suddenly dangerous situation, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk midfielder Jaba Kankava (pictured, left) rushed over to his opponent.
Video shows Kankava works without hesitation to remove Gusev’s tongue from blocking his airwaves, a move that likely paid massive dividends.
As soon as the tongue is moved from Gusev’s throat, the player immediately jolts to consciousness and begins to cough and kick violently.
Medical attention was still obviously required, as a dazed and clearly foggy Gusev was lifted by staff and players onto the stretcher, and there is no word on his current condition as of now, although he was apparently seen standing on the sidelines after being brought off.
The heroic actions of Kankava, which appeared to be almost instinctual, very likely avoided what could have been a much worse situation had Gusev gone some time without being able to breathe.
The visiting Dnipro ended up winning 2-0 behind a pair of goals from Matheus bookending the halftime break. With the win, Dnipro is tied with Shakhtar Donetsk for the league’s lead, while Dynamo Kiev sits two points back in third.
Dynamo’s match recap on their official website cited that “human life is above all” and wished Gusev a speedy recovery.
Here is video of the incident:
