Manchester United have sent a message of support to their former player Angel Gomes after he was knocked unconscious in a scary moment while playing for Lille on Saturday.
The 23-year-old has been at Lille since signing from Manchester United in 2020 and was in action on the opening day of the Ligue 1 season at Reims.
It was still early in the game when Gomes jumped and won a header before being hit hard and late while in the air by Amadou Kone of Reims.
It was a straight red card for Kone but the only concern of everyone in the stadium was for Gomes as he lay on the pitch unconscious.
The game was paused for 34 minutes as the England Under-21 international received the treatment he needed before being stretchered off the field.
Lille confirmed on X while the game was still ongoing: ‘Angel Gomes has regained consciousness and has been transferred to hospital. All our thoughts are with him.’
Manchester United, the club at which Gomes grew up, posted: ‘Sending love and strength to @AGomes_47, who has been taken to hospital following a collision while playing for Lille. We’re thinking of you, Angel.’
Lille went on to win the match 2-0 thanks to goals from Bafode Diakite and Jonathan David, with Diakite holding up a Gomes shirt while celebrating his opening goal.
Lille coach Bruno Genesio said it was a ‘very, very scary’ moment but the news since has been reassuring and he has spoken to Gomes.
‘It was very hard. From the shock, I understood that it was serious,’ said the Lille boss. ‘These are things that we should not see on a field. There are mistakes that can be excused. This one for me is not. We were very, very scared. The latest news is rather reassuring, but it is better to be careful. Angel asked if he was going to play on Saturday, it is a good sign if he has a sense of humor. For me the match was secondary tonight.
Bafode Diakite paid tribute to his injured teammate
‘Why did I seem annoyed at the time? I wanted things to go much faster in the care. We knew it was serious. We knew it right away. I was angry, because it’s hard to see one of your players on the ground. We spend a lot of time together, we’re a family and to see one of your players being attacked, because it’s an attack, it’s very difficult to live through, it was emotionally very hard to live through for the players and the staff. Some were on the verge of tears. Well done for managing to do the job, because it’s never easy and a big thought for Angel, we’re happy to have some reassuring first news.
‘Angel was conscious when he was evacuated. I know he talked, he asked about the results, he was humorous, but I think we have to wait a little. He is in the hospital. The most important thing is that he recovers peacefully from all this. Honestly, I was very, very scared, I don’t want to see the images again.Continue>>’
