Football player injured in UGA game moved to Shepherd Center

ATLANTA — The Southern University football player who suffered a broken neck in last Saturday's game against the University of Georgia says he will work to make the sport safer.

"He actually went down on our sideline,” said UGA Sports Medicine Director Ron Courson. “I was just a few yards away when it happened. It was evident that he had a significant injury.”

Devon Gales is at Atlanta’s Shepherd Center, where he’s expected to remain for eight weeks.

Dr. Kimberly Walpert performed his four hour surgery.

"The broken bone was removed and replaced. A variety of hardware was used to act as a scaffold while his neck heals," she said.

Gales’ doctors say he can move his shoulders and his wrists, but not his fingers or his legs. Whether or not he will be able to play football again is a discussion for another day.

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"I never say never,” The Shepherd’s Center’s Dr. Brock Bowman said. “There's always somebody out there to break the rules. We have to get to the point where he's taking care of himself first.”

Meantime, Gales’ family says he is ready to work himself back to health, and his spirits are high.

"We certainly encourage people to pray for him,” said Kimberly August, a family friend. “But people are calling to check on him, and they’re upset about his injury, and he's consoling them. That's the kind of young man he is.”

Gales’ family says he will also devote time to make the sport of football safer, especially at the high school level.

SU athletics and the SU System Foundation have established the Devon Gales Fund to provide financial assistance to Gales and his family to cover medical expenses.

WSBTV