Match called off after player suffers head injury

Published Oct. 4, 2011 11:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

An English lower league cup match was abandoned on Tuesday after a player was knocked unconscious following a collision and was taken to hospital with a head injury.

Accrington Stanley defender Tom Bender was treated on the pitch with oxygen for 30 minutes after a collision with his keeper Ian Dunbavin and an opponent during the game against Tranmere in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for third and fourth tier clubs.

He later underwent a brain scan, which found no damage.

''Tom is now fully conscious,'' the club's chief executive Rob Heys said after visiting the player in hospital. ''He has been for a scan which has come back as normal.

''He is severely concussed and is being kept in overnight for medical staff to keep an eye on him, but he's stable and that's great news.''

Accrington manager John Coleman said the injury had been an accident.

''Their striker was trying to get the ball,'' Coleman said. ''He was eager and it led to Tom's momentum going onto a full-blooded punch from Bavs. It was like double the force and the fact Tom didn't move when he hit the floor is a concern. The lads immediately knew something was wrong and waved the physio over straight away. The physio admitted it was scary.''

The 18-year-old defender, who is on a season-long loan from Colchester, was on a drip when he left Accrington's ground in an ambulance.

Heys said the game was abandoned because ''both sets of players were shaken up by the incident.''