Ziege came close to losing his leg

A freakish and frightening swelling of Christian Ziege's thigh muscles means the Tottenham Hotspur defender is likely to take no further part in this season, although, had he not been treated swiftly and effectively, the German might have had his leg amputated.

The 30-year-old Berliner suffered a dead leg in the Boxing Day fixture against Charlton Athletic during which he was sent off for the second successive match.

During the night, his right thigh swelled up to twice its normal side and, with the sheer weight of swollen, distended muscle cutting off the blood supply in his leg, Ziege phoned the Tottenham club doctor in excruciating pain. He was suffering from a medical condition known as decompartmentalisation of the muscle.

"Christian has had an emergency operation on Boxing Day evening after what was a dead leg," his manager, Glenn Hoddle, said. "We didn't worry about it after the game. First and foremost was to get Christian in and dealt with because there were complications with the blood supply, and that can be very dangerous."

When asked if Ziege's leg might have been at risk, Hoddle: "Phoning our doctor and getting hold of him very quickly saved, well, I wouldn't like to go into that part."

Instead, during extensive surgery, Ziege had a 10-inch incision cut into his thigh to drain the fluids building up in his leg, which had doubled in size. The incision will be kept open until the last of the fluid is removed, and Hoddle said: "I am not concerned whether he will play again this season, but I would think it would be very difficult for him to return before the end. This is a big blow footballing-wise but it's his health that's most important."

"According to English specialists I will have to remain in hospital until next Tuesday and could be out of action for up to 12 weeks," the player said on his website.