Togo football international Asamoah in paralysis fear after collision during China match
Samuel Asamoah struck an advertising hoarding with his neck after being pushed while playing for Guangxi Pingguo in a League One game
Togo international footballer Samuel Asamoah could be left paralysed after he collided with an advertising board and broke his neck during a match in the second tier of Chinese football, his club has said.
Video footage showed Asamoah, who plays for Guangxi Pingguo in China League One, being barged into from behind by Chongqing Tonglianglong’s Zhang Zhixiong during Sunday’s match.
The push, for which Zhang received a yellow card, forced Asamoah to plough headfirst into the LED advertising hoardings.
On Wednesday, his club released a statement which confirmed the 31-year-old had undergone surgery, but the injury could leave him paralysed.
“Following detailed diagnosis by an expert medical team and hospital personnel, Asamoah has been diagnosed with displacement and fractures of the C2 to C6 vertebrae in his neck, resulting in a C5-C6 vertebral compression fracture,” the statement said.
“This injury is accompanied by nerve compression, posing a risk of high-level paraplegia. He will miss all remaining matches this season, and his professional career may be severely impacted.”