Buchanan broke his leg while playing basketball in Port Fairy last week.

An opposition player fell across Buchanan’s leg, which broke it and also snapped ligaments in his ankle and stretched ligaments in his knee.

In the operation that followed doctors put in eight screws and a plate to help the leg heal.

The injury means Buchanan will not be able to ply his trade as a builder for the next six months.

It has also put his football career on hold with the key position player having planned to line up for Hawkesdale-Macarthur.

“I knew something was wrong when I looked down and my foot was facing the wrong way,” Buchanan said.

“I stayed pretty calm, I thought there wasn’t much point rolling around and squealing.

“It looked pretty ordinary and the other people on the court were not real keen to look at it.”

Buchanan’s long-term plan for a career in the army has also been set back by the injury.

He joined the Army Reserve earlier this year with a view to going into the army full-time in the future, but he now expects to be sidelined from the Reserves until the injury is fully healed.

Buchanan is hoping to be back in action in time for the start of the Grassmere Cricket Association season in October.

Last month Buchanan was the star in Killarney’s first A grade premiership victory.

He took four wickets in the Crabs’ semi-final win over Panmure and then 7/52 in the Crabs’ grand final victory over Yambuk.

This outstanding finals form backed up a big home and away season where he won the association’s A grade bowling aggregate with 32 wickets.

This included the 22-year-old taking four or more wickets on four occasions during the home-and-away season.