Ice skates (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
St. Louis Blues center Radek Faksa has nearly suffered an injury that would make any man retire immediately, and it’s apparently still bad enough to take him out of the lineup.

The 30-year-old is out of this Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks after “an errant skate nearly made contact with his penis.”

This isn’t a joke. Radek Faksa really nearly sustained the worst injury in the history of sports.

“I’m not a doctor, but it was real close to his privates,” Blues head coach Jim Montgomery revealed. “It could’ve been MUCH worse.”

The incident took place during St. Louis’ win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night, with opposing forward Danton Heinen accidentally hitting him near the privates with his skate blade while he was falling.

You can see the play in the video below, but it’s very hard to watch.

Close, right?

Radek Faksa is expected to make a full recovery, though his length of absence is currently unknown.