2<\/p>\n Bellew hobbled off the pitch in agony after rupturing his Achilles tendon at Soccer AidCredit: PA<\/p>\n However, nothing could prepare him for the pain he felt when he ruptured his Achilles tendon during the Soccer Aid 2025 charity football match in June.<\/p>\n What did Tony Bellew say about his injury?<\/p>\n “The amount of pain a fully ruptured Achilles gives, I’m told it is one of the worst pains going, and I walked off that pitch,” Bellew told talkSPORT Drive on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n “I should have been stretchered off the pitch like Usain Bolt did the year before.<\/a><\/p>\n “I walked off that pitch, and I was in extraordinary amounts of pain.<\/p>\n “I’m alright, but it has been really tough. In 25 years of fighting, this is the hardest thing I have ever had to get through.<\/p>\n “I’ve had around 90 fights in my life (amateur and professional), and the worst injury I have ever had is this snapped Achilles.<\/p>\n “And it happened at Soccer Aid, so I basically donated my Achilles tendon.”<\/p>\n Ironically, Bellew’s injury was identical to the one David Haye<\/a> sustained during their inaugural encounter in 2017.<\/p>\n Haye snapped his Achilles tendon in the sixth round, but the brave Brit battled through until the eleventh stanza when he was eventually stopped.<\/a><\/p>\n Bellew’s recent experience has given him a newfound respect for his former rival, whom he describes as a ‘maniac’.<\/p>\n![\"Bellew](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/reacts-carried-off-going-injured-1003206541.jpg\")
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![\"Haye](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/david-haye-struggles-injured-ankle-1022345543.jpg\")
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