Arsenal captain Cesc Fàbregas broke his right leg before using it to score the tying penalty kick during Wednesday night's Champions League match against Barcelona.
Fàbregas, who left the Emirates on crutches, was preparing to shoot when his legs got tangled with those of Barça defender Carles Puyol, who was trying to challenge from behind.
Swiss referee Massimo Busacca gave Puyol a red card and Fàbregas got to his feet, then kicked the ball down the middle as goalkeeper Víctor Valdés dived to his left.
Now the Spanish midfielder fears he will be out for the rest of the season and miss the World Cup finals.
He said after the match: "I am not good. We have to wait but I hope I will be able to wear the Arsenal shirt again this season.
"I fear the worst which is that I broke something. I took the penalty quiet strong and after that I went to get the ball and then I couldn't walk any more.
"It is the fibula. I think I put my leg between Puyol's when I was fouled, and kicked it.
"I don't think it is going to be good news. For 85 minutes it was not a gamble to play. I knew in my mind I was not 100 per cent and I knew in my mind there was something there.
"But until the penalty I was feeling quiet good. It was a gamble worth taking, it was an amazing experience, an amazing game and I will remember it all my life."
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger started Fàbregas after the midfielder passed a fitness test on a knee injury.
The Professor acknowledged it was a risk to play him just four days after he was hurt in a Premier League game but said the 22-year-old insisted he was fit to face the club he started with.
Wenger added: "You have to trust how the player feels."
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Fàbregas, who left the Emirates on crutches, was preparing to shoot when his legs got tangled with those of Barça defender Carles Puyol, who was trying to challenge from behind.
Swiss referee Massimo Busacca gave Puyol a red card and Fàbregas got to his feet, then kicked the ball down the middle as goalkeeper Víctor Valdés dived to his left.
Now the Spanish midfielder fears he will be out for the rest of the season and miss the World Cup finals.
He said after the match: "I am not good. We have to wait but I hope I will be able to wear the Arsenal shirt again this season.
"I fear the worst which is that I broke something. I took the penalty quiet strong and after that I went to get the ball and then I couldn't walk any more.
"It is the fibula. I think I put my leg between Puyol's when I was fouled, and kicked it.
"I don't think it is going to be good news. For 85 minutes it was not a gamble to play. I knew in my mind I was not 100 per cent and I knew in my mind there was something there.
"But until the penalty I was feeling quiet good. It was a gamble worth taking, it was an amazing experience, an amazing game and I will remember it all my life."
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger started Fàbregas after the midfielder passed a fitness test on a knee injury.
The Professor acknowledged it was a risk to play him just four days after he was hurt in a Premier League game but said the 22-year-old insisted he was fit to face the club he started with.
Wenger added: "You have to trust how the player feels."
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