A NEWPORT goalkeeper was airlifted to hospital on Saturday and is unlikely to play football again after he collapsed following a "freak accident" during an 11-a-side match.

Darren Davies, 36, suffered a spinal injury on the pitch during a Newport League football match on Saturday when he was playing for Pill AFC.

Mr Davies had made a save against opposing team Cromwell AFC during the second half but when he threw the ball back in he felt a painful twinge.

The former bakery delivery driver said: “The ball came back to me quickly, I ran about three or five paces and that’s when I felt excruciating pain in my neck.

“I went down onto my feet and then began losing sensation in my lower legs. My body then went into shock.”

An ambulance was called to the playing field, at Llanwern High School, Newport, but was unable to access Mr Davies on the pitch.

A Swansea-based air ambulance crew arrived at 4.50pm and airlifted the goalie to the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, in seven minutes, where he learnt his spinal cord had been damaged.

Coach of Pill AFC, Brian Morris, said: “In the second half he began crouching on the floor. At the beginning it was a bit of all a joke, everyone was initially thinking, ‘what is he playing at?’ But then it got more serious and he couldn’t move.”

“He’s got a long road ahead but now he’s starting to get feeling back in his legs. He’s going to be in hospital for a while.”

It was only the second match Mr Davies had played for the Pill team, who were losing 3-2 at the time, after he decided to retire from playing with the football club two years ago.

Mr Morris said: “Everyone’s gutted for him. He’d literally only just come back to the team.”

On Monday doctors carried out a risky operation to remove two of three discs in Mr Davies’ spine which had slipped, causing numbness to his limbs and pain elsewhere.

He will have to stay in hospital for up to six weeks, wear a collar for nearly three months and undergo physiotherapy before making a full recovery within 18 months.

Mr Davies said: “My family and friends have been very, very supportive. A lot of people are just shocked.

“The staff have also been absolutely amazing. I was scared and didn’t know what was going to happen, but they were fantastic.

“It was a freak accident. I think it was just going to happen sometime but it happened in a football match, in such a freak way. Just bad luck unfortunately.”