He was originally cast as the lead in the ITV's "Sharpe" series of television movies but ruptured a cruciate ligament playing football a few days into the shooting of
Sharpe's Rifles (1993) in the Ukraine. Due to a misdiagnosis he continued for weeks, unwittingly causing more damage. He was replaced in the role by
Sean Bean, who starred not only in
Sharpe's Rifles (1993) but the other thirteen films as well. Bean's replacement of McGann triggered the largest insurance settlement in British television history...a value of £2,128,172.
