Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the toughest men on the planet – and has fought back from some pretty horrific injuries.
The former professional bodybuilder has taken as much punishment as some of his iconic characters over the years.
And he has been rebuilt more times than the Terminator – with cables and screws inserted into his body after some traumatic accidents.
Arnie, whose life is being revisited as part of the Daily Star’s look back at Hollywood action heroes, also nearly died on the operating table during a routine procedure.
But the Mr Universe winner has always said, “I’ll be back,” when faced with adversity and looks sensational at the age of 73.
Famous for doing his own impressive stunts, Arnie one claimed, “I get injured in every movie,” – with one of the nastiest coming on the set of blockbuster hit Total Recall in 1989.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was injured with a gun on the set of Total Recall (Image: Hand out picture)
While his character was racing away from a gang of hitmen, he was forced to smash a window of a train with a gun to escape.
However, there was a mishap which meant the glass prop did not explode at the right time, so Arnie was left with a gruesome cut to his wrist.
In June this year, he told Yahoo : “[I was] running after the train and smashing the window with the gun, but they did not explode the window before I hit the window with the gun, so therefore I cut my wrist deep.
“I had to get stitched up during lunch break, which was at like midnight, because we were night shooting.
“After I was stitched up and everything, we hid the bandages, we pulled the jacket all the way to the front and taped it up so we don’t see the bandages.”
Arnie had stitches in his lip (Image: Reuters)
Arnie has been involved in multiple motorbike accidents over the years which have resulted in hospital vitis.
In December 2001, the Hollywood star suffered six broken ribs and was hospitalised for four days after a motorcycle crash in LA.
His chest hit the windshield, breaking his ribs, when a car stopped in front of him and he was unable to change lanes to avoid the vehicle.
A few years later in 2006, Arnold was riding a Harley Davidson with his then 12-year-old son, Patrick, in the side car when they collided with another driver at low speed.
His spokeswoman confirmed he needed 15 stitches in his lip, while father and son were treated for cuts and bruises before being released.
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
It was a ski injury that left him in agony in December 2006, when Arnie tripped over his ski pole and broke his right femur in Sun Valley, Idaho during a family holiday.
According to ski instructor Adi Erber in his account in the Times, the actor was rescued by a team on a toboggan during the “freak accident”.
Three days later he underwent a 90-minute operation in which his broken bone was wired back together with screws and cables.
The much-loved actor was born with a biscupid aortic valve, having only two leaflets as opposed to three.
In 1997, he elected to have surgery, with a replacement heart valve made out of his own transplanted tissue from his pumonic valve, which itself was replaced.
Arnie was on crutches for his swearing in ceremony as California Governor in Jan 2007 (Image: AFP/Getty Images)
This replacement valve needed replacing in March 2018 when Arnie was rushed to hospital for open-heart surgery.
He was taken to Cedars-Sinai hospital in LA for a catheter valve replacement – but developed complications while he was there.
While he recovered, Arnie had to use a walker and do breathing exercises five times a day to retran his lungs, leaving him “frustrated and angry”
Speaking about the op, which could have proven fatal, Arnie was very relaxed about what could have been.
“It was kind of a surprise. I never get scared about these things,” he told The Sun in October 2019.
“For a minute I was worried it was too close to doing Terminator 6 but I realised right away the movie is a good means to get back into shape again.
“I was home in no time and was back to the gym in no time. Most people baby themselves too much after surgery.”
Arnie was sent flying after being kicked in the back (Image: Arnold Sport Festival Africa)
And in May last year, the world-famous actor was completely taken by surprise when he was drop-kicked from behind in a strange attack.
Arnie was mingling with fans, taking selfies and signing autographs while hosting the Arnold Classic Africa in South Africa.
Suddenly, a man leaped into the air and kicked the Predator star in the back during shocking video footage.
Security rushed in to apprehend the man, while bemused Arnie walked out of the convention centre moments later.
The tough guy later tweeted about the incident, claiming he didn’t even know he had been attacked.
He posted: “Thanks for your concerns, but there is nothing to worry about. I thought I was just jostled by the crowd, which happens a lot.
“I only realized I was kicked when I saw the video like all of you. I’m just glad the idiot didn’t interrupt my Snapchat.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
