Rousimar Toquinho and his broken foot / Personal archive photo
Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares’ encounter with Cuban-Australian judoka Hector Lombard at UFC on FX 6 last Saturday didn’t end well for him. Besides taking a serious thumping, he had to go straight from Australia’s Gold Coast Convention Centre to the hospital, where a ligament tear to his right foot and some broken bones were diagnosed.
“During the fight I was landing some kicks, but on my fourth kick I hit Lombard’s shin right under the knee,” Palhares said through a press release. “When I heard the crack I knew something was wrong. From that point on, my foot got more and more numb and I had trouble moving around the octagon. It was a complicated situation. I went through something similar when I broke my hand fighting Jeremy Horn.”
The Brazilian went to the hospital accompanied by his crew, including his trainer Murilo Bustamante, head trainer at Brazilian Top Team, who sent out thanks to the UFC for the support.
“In this sport, athletes are going through adverse situations all the time,” Bustamante said in the release. “Now what Rousimar needs to focus on is taking care of his injury. What’s done is done. He’s a great athlete and will get back on his feet. The whole UFC team did an amazing job, starting with their first response while in the arena. The local hospital staff was also really quick in getting all the imaging exams ‘Toquinho’ needed, and that helped us get started with treatment right away. His right foot is still really swollen. We still don’t have a forecast as to when he’ll be able to get back to training.”
The date for Palhares’ return to Brazil has not yet been defined. He will only be able to travel once released by doctors. Another clinical evaluation will be carried out later this week.
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