Halilhodzic hurt in skiing accident

Lille OSC coach Vahid Halilhodzic is recovering in hospital after being badly injured in a skiing accident.

Punctured lung
Halilhodzic suffered a punctured lung and four broken ribs after falling on a black run, the steepest grade of slope, in Val d'Isere on Friday. The 49-year-old Bosnian, who famously steered LOSC to promotion and then last year oversaw a third place finish which put them into this year's UEFA Champions League, is expected to be out until the start of February at the earliest.

Initial fears
He is expected to miss at least six Le Championnat matches. Initial reports from the resort had stated that Halilhodzic had been ‘seriously injured’ amid fears of omplications with the lung injury. Club president Francis Graille said: “It is true that we were afraid because of the puncture which caused bruising in his kidneys.”

'Laugh a little'
Halilhodzic has responded to treatment though and is due to be moved from Bourg-Saint-Maurice hospital to one in Lille at the start of the week, where he will stay for two to three weeks.  Even if the pain is causing him problems, he has still managed to laugh a little,” Graille added. “He will leave his role for a bit, but he will not be completely absent. It is important though that he shows patience and gets better.”

'Rare type of accident'
The injuries happened when Halilhodzic fell onto his ski pole after tumbling on the slope and breaking his ribs, one of which punctured his lung. Val d'Isere's piste director Jean-Lou Costerg said: “This is a very rare type of ski accident. There are hardly three or four of these sort of accidents during a season.”

UEFA Cup hopes
Despite the disappointment of their Champions League exit after the first group stage, LOSC are going well in the league and lie fourth. They are also still in the UEFA Cup and are due to face BV Borussia Dortmund in a fourth-round tie in February.