You might wish it to someone as an expression, but a broken leg is never something to take lightly. It’s even worse as you get older, so while a rookie might recover from it pretty quickly, someone like Sigi Schmid may take longer to heal. And that is exactly what has happened to the Seattle Sounders head coach, but luckily he had some help from his friends in the MLS world.

We have been seeing Schmid favoring his broken fibula for weeks now and while he still looks strong and capable, he sure as heck didn’t look very comfortable. So his buddy Jurgen Klinsmann, head coach of the U.S. National Team, sent him some crutches to use. It was a surprise gesture that Schmid was totally surprised by when he found the medical devices in his office. He did not even tell Schmid that he was sending them—nor did he explain it until much later.

Schmid says of his friend, “He said he was tired of seeing me on those big, American, bulky crutches. I had no idea where they were from or who sent them. We were talking about something else and he says, ‘Oh by the way, did you like the crutches?’ I go, ‘Oh, so you were the one! It’s nice to know that you care. It was nice … I appreciate Jurgen sending me the European crutches.”

It is also nice to see such friendliness among soccer professionals. There is a lot that we see through keeping up through media and social media, not to mention matches, but it is gestures like these that show you how deeply these friendships truly are behind the scenes.

Schmid broke his fibula earlier this year when he slipped on his porch at home. The crutches are a huge improvement since they support the forearm rather than the armpit area, allowing him more mobility as well as support and comfort. Schmid has had to rely upon a card to get around during the games lately, as well as to the locker rooms, but he has not missed a game due to the injury. Schmid says although the American crutches seemed more stable and able to support his body, these crutches are much easier to use and help him get around better.

Like Schmid, Klinsmann is German. Schmid’s hometown is not far from where Klinsmann is from, another thing they have in common.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia