Speaking to BBC Sport, consultant colorectal surgeon Professor Gillian Tierney said injuries similar to the one suffered by Awoniyi can be fatal.
“The injury is really serious. It is potentially life-threatening,” said Tierney.
“It is very easy to miss at the point of contact and can take hours to diagnose.
“In a hospital setting we would send a patient for a CT scan which could take up to 10 hours.
“If it occurred to an athlete who was super fit, very muscular and was running on adrenaline then I think it would be extremely understandable to miss it. Fluid leaking from the intestine would not be easy to diagnose straight away.
“Surgery is usually required and the stomach would be opened up. The mortality stat is 9%. So if an athlete – who went through the procedure – was really fit, they would stand a good chance of being OK.
“It would be different if the operation occurred for an 80-year-old, who has other health issues.”
Mr Harpaul Flora, consultant vascular and general surgeon at The London Clinic, said ruptured intestines are “a pretty rare injury”.
He added: “It’s either a compression of the abdominal wall which has led to tearing and liquid seeping out – or the tear of an artery.
“Neither of those would be able to be diagnosed without a scan, there may have been bruising.
“It can be life-threatening. If it wasn’t treated by a hospital it can give you an infection. It could then lead to sepsis, which is a life-threatening consequence.”
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