Former United player wins $8.26m in damages

(CNN) -- A former Manchester United player was awarded more than £4.3 million ($8.26 million) by the High Court in London on Monday over a bad tackle which ended his promising career.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson testified to the court that midfielder Ben Collett would have had an "outstanding chance" of gaining a full-time contract with the Premier League giants.

But Collett never fully recovered from breaking his leg in two places following a tackle by Gary Smith of Middlesbrough during his first-ever match for United's second-string team in 2003.

Collett, who was 18 at the time of the incident, retired last year after attempting to revive his career with Dutch and New Zealand clubs.

The 23-year-old then launched his lawsuit against Middlesbrough and Smith in a bid for the compensation he was awarded at the High Court.

Both Smith and the club admitted liability for the "negligent" tackle and the judge's task was to decide on the level of compensation that Collett should receive from Middlesbrough's insurers.

Mrs Justice Swift ruled that had it not been for the injury, Collett would indeed have been awarded a three-year professional contract with United in July 2003.

The court had heard that Collett could have earned more than $25,000 a week, making a total in excess of $32 million, if he had played until the age of 35.

United legend Paddy Crerand told the court that the youngster had a similar style to current United and Welsh international star Ryan Giggs and could have gone on to become a household name.