As Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas rode the Tour de France while suffering from a fractured pelvis, we look at other sports stars who have gritted their teeth and battled injury to carry on:

1. Bert Trautmann Played in a Soccer Final with a broken neck



When it comes to playing on after injury, one performance immediately comes to mind. In 1956, German-born goalkeeper Bert Trautmann won an FA Cup winners’ medal after he played the last 17 minutes of the final with a broken neck. Manchester City had taken a 3-1 lead against Birmingham at Wembley when, in the 73rd minute, Trautmann dived at the feet of the onrushing forward, Peter Murphy. The Birmingham player’s knee collided with the City goalkeeper’s neck in a clash which knocked Trautmann out. There were no substitutes in those days, so City looked as if they would play the game’s closing stages with 10 men. But Trautmann had other ideas, unsteadily taking his place between the posts and even making two fine stops to maintain the lead. It was only days later that an X-ray revealed a broken neck and Trautmann’s name went down in legend. It was a far cry to when he first arrived in Manchester.

3. Manteo Mitchell runs relay with a broken leg



The 2012 London Olympics will live long in the memory for the feats of the home athletes, but none was more amazing than the story of American 400m runner Manteo Mitchell. Mitchell was the lead-off man in the USA team for the heats of the 4x400 relay. Just 200m into the race, Mitchell – and a lot of the crowd – heard an audible crack. His left fibula, the smaller of the two shin bones, snapped and X-rays revealed a clean break. “It was literally bone, space, bone,” Mitchell said. “It broke in two.”

Running on adrenaline through the pain and with an altered stride – “I just focused on lifting my knees” – Mitchell posted a 46.1-second split.

Team USA went on to finish second in the final behind the Bahamas, and Mitchell received a silver medal for his role.

“I had to channel my attention and my focus on getting back to the finish line, knowing that there were three guys that were waiting for me and a whole country depending on me,” he said.

5. Franz Beckenbauer plays in sling at World Cup



Franz Beckenbauer was known as ‘Der Kaiser’ during his playing days because of the classy way he bossed games as he glided around the field.

Nothing ever seemed to get in the way of his serenity, not even a broken collarbone in the 1970 World Cup semi-final between West Germany and Italy.

The West Germans were 1-0 down in Mexico City when, after a foul, Beckenbauer fell and was injured.

With his side having used their two substitutes, Beckenbauer sent away the stretcher and opted to carry on, with his injured arm put in a sling.

His bravery looked to have paid off when Karl-Heinz Schnellinger equalised in the time added on for Beckenbauer to be treated.

But the match, called the “Game of the Century”, still had many twists and turns, with five more goals in extra time – the only World Cup game in which this has happened – as Italy won 4-3.