A 27-year-old professional soccer goalkeeper sustained blunt trauma to his left thigh while diving to catch a football. He immediately developed pain and swelling over the lateral aspect of his left thigh below the greater trochanter. The pain was exacerbated by weight-bearing on the affected limb, radiated into the left gluteal region, and was associated with subjectively reduced range of movement in the left hip joint. He struggled with sprinting, jumping, and diving onto the affected side for the remainder of the match but managed to walk independently off the field of play after finishing the game. There was also an associated swelling over the zone of injury, which progressively increased in size in the hours following the match. The player did not have any other concurrent injuries and did not have any significant medical history. Clinical examination revealed a soft, fluctuant, lobulated mass measuring 5.0 cm x 4.0 cm approximately three finger breadths below the left greater trochanter. The mass was exquisitely tender to touch and located in the plane between the skin and underlying fascia. There was an associated effusion around the mass but no overlying erythema or breach in skin integrity. The skin was not warm to touch compared to the right side. There was no tenderness over the bony prominences of the anterior superior iliac supine, ischial tuberosity, greater trochanter, or iliac crest and no snapping of the iliotibial band over the greater trochanter. The patient had full active range of motion in the left hip and knee joints. Specialist hip tests including flexion abduction and internal rotation, flexion abduction and external rotation, Thomas test, and Ober's test were negative. The patient had a normal gait and did not require any walking aids. Plain anteroposterior and lateral radiographs of the left hip joint and left femur were unremarkable. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the left thigh revealed a well-circumscribed, lobulated mass measuring 5.2 cm x 4.3 cm x 3.2 cm in size. This was arising from the adipose tissue located between the subcutaneous tissue and fascia immediately inferior to the left greater trochanter (Figs. 1 and 2) and was associated with a surrounding effusion (Fig. 3). There was no other bone or soft-tissue pathology identified on the MRI scan. These clinical and radiological findings were consistent with an acute traumatic fat fracture. The differential diagnosis included the following: Fat fracture, benign tumor (e.g., lipoma), malignant tumor (e.g.,liposarcoma), abscess, and hematoma. The patient was reviewed by the team doctor and sports physiotherapist on the day of injury and commenced onto a supervised physiotherapy program the following day. Initial treatment consisted of resting the affected limb, avoiding any exacerbating positions or maneuvers, and limiting any pressure (e.g., laying on the affected side, tight clothing) over the zone of injury. The patient was commenced on regular non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication. Physiotherapy consisted of isometric muscle exercises, core strengthening, neuromuscular control activities, cryotherapy, and hydrotherapy. After 3 weeks of conservative treatment, the patient still had persistent pain and tenderness over the lateral aspect of his left thigh and could not participate in any level of training or competitive sporting activity. The patient was further counseled about the likely diagnosis and further management options. These included continuing conservative treatment, acute surgical excision, or delayed surgical excision if symptoms persisted despite further rehabilitation. As a professional soccer goalkeeper, his main treatment priorities were early return to sporting activity and minimal risk of recurrence with diving onto the affected side in the future. The patient elected to undergo acute surgical excision of the traumatic fat fracture. The procedure was performed under general anesthetic with the patient in the lateral decubitus position. A longitudinal incision measuring 6 cm center in length was centered over the soft-tissue mass, and dissection performed through the subcutaneous tissue down to the underlying capsule of the fat fracture. Finger dissection was performed between the underlying muscular fascia and the capsule of the fat fracture. Electrocautery was used to dissect fibrous bands adhering the cystic mass to the underlying fascia. The mass was excised with the surrounding capsule intact (Fig.4). Hemostasis was performed and the wound closed with absorbable sutures. Histological analysis of the excised specimen revealed lobulated and focally degenerate adipose tissue. This was covered by a thick layer of inflamed fibrous tissue which extended into the lesion. There was no evidence of fat necrosis or any neoplastic process. The findings were consistent with the working diagnosis of a fat fracture. The patient was followed up in clinic at 2 weeks after surgery. The pain over the left lateral thigh had completely resolved, and the patient had discontinued all analgesia. The patient had returned to his pre-injury level of sporting function without any problems. On examination, the wound was clean and wellhealed without any evidence of infection. There was no underlying collection or mass palpable, and he had full active range of motion in the left hip and knee joints. He did not require any walking aids and had a normal gait. The patient remained asymptomatic and continued to participate in full sporting activity without any complications at 1-year follow-up and was discharged from clinic at this time point.