I've seen some nasty injuries in my time covering German football, but Friday's Bundesliga relegation scrap between Heidenheim and Bochum genuinely made me feel sick to my stomach. What should've been a tense but routine battle for survival turned into something that left everyone at the stadium holding their breath – twice.

Former Brentford man Philipp Hofmann is currently lying in a hospital bed after suffering what Bochum described as a "potentially life-threatening" injury. Jesus. Those aren't words you ever want to read in a club statement.

When Football Suddenly Doesn't Matter Anymore

The incident happened during that dire 0-0 draw at Heidenheim. Hofmann collided with Marvin Pieringer in what initially looked like one of those painful-but-routine coming togethers. Nobody realized how serious it was until the medical team rushed on.

Turns out the 32-year-old suffered a fractured rib that – and this made me wince just reading it – actually punctured his lung. The club revealed the rib had drilled into his rib skin (whatever teh hell that means medically) and triggered a lung collapse.

Hofmann underwent emergency thoracic drainage to restore lung function. I spoke to a doctor friend who explained that basically means they stuck a tube between his ribs to re-inflate the lung. Sounds medieval, but apparently it's standard procedure.

Remember him?

Some Brentford fans might vaguely recall Hofmann from his two-season stint in West London between 2015-2017. He wasn't exactly prolific – just 4 goals in 31 Championship appearances – before heading back to Germany where he's carved out a decent career.

Club director Dirk Dufner visited him Saturday morning and apparently he's stable, though he'll remain hospitalized until doctors clear him for transport. No timeline for recovery yet.

Wait... there was ANOTHER horrific injury?!

As if one player being rushed to hospital wasn't traumatic enough for everyone at the Voith-Arena, Heidenheim's goalkeeper Kevin Müller was knocked unconscious after clashing heads with Ibrahima Sissoko early in the second half.

I've watched the replay (wish I hadn't) and it happened as Müller came out to punch a ball clear. The 34-year-old immediately dropped motionless to the ground.

His teammate Tim Siersleben deserves massive credit for immediately putting him in the recovery position. Smart thinking that could've been crucial.

The game stopped for 11 excruciating minutes. Those privacy screens coming out is always a terrible sign. I've only seen them used three times in 15 years covering Bundesliga – never for anything minor.

Thankfully, Frank Schmidt (Heidenheim's manager) confirmed Müller regained consciousness on the field before being transported to hospital. The club later confirmed he suffered a concussion, which sounds almost mild given how scary it looked in real time.

The relegation picture (because life goes on, I guess)

Almost feels wrong to talk about the actual football after all that, but the 0-0 draw leaves both teams in serious trouble with just two games remaining.

Bochum sit rock bottom on 22 points. Their best hope now is reaching the relegation playoff spot, where they'd face Bundesliga 2's third-place team (currently Paderborn) in a two-legged fight for survival.

Heidenheim occupy that playoff position now, four points above Bochum but still five points from absolute safety. Hoffenheim currently hold the final safe spot in 15th.

Back in 2018, I covered a similar relegation battle that went down to the final kick. This one feels different though – both clubs will surely be more concerned about their injured players than league position right now.

Meanwhile, at the other end...

While all this drama was unfolding, Bayern Munich somehow managed to blow their chance to seal the title. Harry Kane's wait for his first trophy continues after RB Leipzig snatched a late equalizer in that bonkers 3-3 draw.

Poor Kane. From Tottenham to Bayern and still trophy-less. Though I'm guessing he'd trade places with Hofmann and Müller in a heartbeat right now.

Let's hope both players make full recoveries. Some things are way bigger than football.