A 16-year-old footballer had a lucky escape after suffering a fractured skull and brain haemorrhage on his Stroud League debut for Minchinhampton FC.
Forest Green fan Olly Sykes suffered a horrific injury after an accidental clash of heads at the end of Minchinhampton Reserves fixture against Frampton 3rds.
“I was knocked out after colliding heads with a Frampton defender who was also knocked out,” revealed Olly, a winger for Minch.
“The ref was about to blow the whistle, the ball had been kicked high in the middle of the pitch and I had gone to contest the ball, but not noticing the defender behind me as I jumped towards the ball, I beat the player to the ball and he had already committed himself to a header and caught me on the side of my head.”
Olly, who works part-time at The Lamb Inn, Eastcombe was rushed to Gloucester Royal Hospital by his dad, where a CT scan revealed a fractured skull and brain haemorrhage, where he was subsequently transferred to Bristol Southmead and successfully operated on.
Olly admitted he was fortunate to make a full recovery: “I’m lucky – this type of injury is so rare in football and I wasn’t expecting to suffer a fractured skull and brain haemorrhage.”
On the road to recovery, Olly is expected to return to football in three months.
