Cisse could have lost his leg after injury

French striker Djibril Cisse has revealed he could have lost his left leg in the aftermath of the horrific injury which wrecked his first season at Liverpool.

Cisse was carried off with a double fracture of his leg after a tackle in the Premiership match at Blackburn on October 30th - and will not play again this season.

And the £14 million signing from Auxerre claims his career could have been destroyed and that had he not had expert medical treatment at Ewood Park, there was the prospect of amputation.

Cisse, in an interview with club magazine LFC, said: "When I was taken from the field, what they did next was so important for my career, what they did in those first few moments was vital. My bones were overlapping and I had no circulation in my foot."

And the 23-year-old insists: "They had to give me drugs to help with the pain and then they had to pull my bones back into place with their hands. If they had waited until I had got to the hospital I might have lost my leg, it was that serious."

Cisse is still on crutches but is back at Liverpool's training ground having daily treatment and has told manager Rafael Benitez he has set a target of being able to play in the final few games of the season. But he is clearly very aware of the debt he owes to Liverpool's medical team for their swift action at the ground when he was first injured.

Former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu will start a programme of drug rehabilitation next month under the guidance of Tony Adams.

The 25-year-old will be at the Sporting Chance Clinic for two weeks, the charity formed by Adams, after testing positive for cocaine earlier this season.

After he was sacked by Chelsea, the Romania international was given a seven-month ban from football, fined £20,000 following a Football Association disciplinary hearing and told to spend time at the clinic.

Mutu, who arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2003 for £15.8 million from Parma, requested to work with recovering alcoholic Adams.

"Because of the public nature of Adrian's ban and its conditions, I can confirm he will be with us in the new year," Sporting Chance chief Peter Kay told BBC Sport Online.

"In many ways it will be the biggest challenge of his career. Adrian wanted to work with Tony as he was a high-profile sportsman who overcame an addiction.

"I'm sure he'll take the chance to learn important lessons about himself and become the man he hopes to be. Adrian has done everything that has been asked of him up to now."

The charity was set up by Kay and Adams to help sportsmen with addictions.

Other footballers including Paul McGrath, Paul Merson and Clarke Carlisle have been treated at the clinic.

Although Kay stressed it is unknown if Mutu is addicted to any substance, he wants the clinic to help the player.

"He is a delightful young man but like many, including me, he's made a mistake in his life," Kay added.

Former Scotland and Tottenham goalkeeper Bill Brown has died at the age of 73. Brown began his career with Dundee, making 274 appearances for the Dark Blues. But the goalkeeper made his name with Spurs, where he was part of the late Bill Nicholson's double-winning team in 1961. Brown won 28 caps for his country.