Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi is in an induced coma in hospital after emergency surgery for a ruptured intestine.
The 27-year-old was injured when he collided with a goal post in the 2-2 draw against Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday.
There is no suggestion the player’s condition is life-threatening and it is understood the coma will help restrict his movement and regulate his heart rate.
Awoniyi was taken to hospital on Monday after further investigations by the Forest medical team before having abdominal surgery that night.
Forest said on Tuesday the Nigeria international was “recovering well”.
Awoniyi had only been introduced as a substitute five minutes earlier when he collided with the post while stretching to reach a cross from Anthony Elanga in the closing stages of the match at the City Ground.
Elanga had been in a clear offside position when he took possession of the ball earlier in the move, but was not flagged by the assistant referee until after Awoniyi’s collision.
Match officials are directed to keep their flag down when there is a possibility of a goal, allowing the play to be checked by the assistant video referee (VAR) if necessary.
But the directive has been criticised by fans and commentators as needlessly allowing a passage of play which could also put players at risk of injury.
Awoniyi had tried to carry on playing despite lengthy treatment.
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Nottingham Forest said the seriousness of his injury validated owner Evangelos Marinakis’s decision to go onto the pitch after the match, claiming reports of a confrontation with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo was “fake news”.
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Forest said the owner’s reaction was one of “deep care, responsibility, and emotional investment in one of our own”.
A club statement added: “In the final 10 minutes of the game, when he saw our player clearly in discomfort, struggling through visible pain, it became increasingly difficult for him to stay on the sidelines.
“His deep frustration at seeing our player lying on the ground in severe pain – something no one with genuine care could ignore – triggered him to go onto the pitch.
“The truth of the matter is there was no confrontation, with Nuno or with others, either on the pitch or inside the stadium.
“There was only shared frustration between all of us that the medical team should never have allowed the player to continue.”
