Alex Greenwood given oxygen and stretchered off after sickening head injury

31 October 2023 , 19:58

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Alex Greenwood given oxygen and stretchered off after sickening head injury

Alex Greenwood was conscious and being monitored by medical staff after being stretchered off following a sickening clash of heads in England's defeat by Belgium.

Greenwood was involved in a collision with Jassina Blom while ducking to head the ball midway through the first half of the 3-2 defeat in Belgium in the Nations League. While Blom was able to continue with a bandage on her head, Greenwood was attended to by medics on the field, who put her into a neck brace.

There were six paramedics and four members of England's medical team on hand quickly, with Greenwood given oxygen. There was visible concern on the faces of Greenwood's England team-mates as they waited for the medical professionals to do their jobs. Sarina Wiegman opted to replace the Manchester City defender with Jess Carter.

"Safety is paramount you would like to think all the tests have been done so that Jassina Blom is safe to continue with the game," said former England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain on ITV4's coverage. "Precaution is the key aspect of this."

After a 10-minute delay, Greenwood was carried off the pitch on a stretcher to a warm round of applause from the fans inside the Den Dreef stadium in Belgium, which included 700 from England. She was conscious as she left the pitch, squeezing the hands of her team-mates Millie Bright and Georgia Stanway. At half-time she was fully responsive, talking and being monitored by the team's medical staff.

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The Lionesses were 1-0 behind at the time of the injury following a curling free-kick from Laura de Neve, who beat Mary Earps from distance. Lucy Bronze equalised with a header from Chloe Kelly's free-kick minutes after Greenwood left the pitch on a stretcher.

Fran Kirby then made it 2-1 to England with a low finish from Lauren Hemp's cut-back. But Tessa Wullaert levelled things for Belgium from a through ball in the sixth minute of the 14 added on at the end of the first half. Wullaert then netted a second-half penalty after a handball by Stanway to win it for Beligum.

Alex Greenwood was tended to by doctors (ANP via Getty Images)

Paramedics attended to Alex Greenwood (REX/Shutterstock)

England need a result in Belgium, with the Netherlands top of their Nations League group on head-to-head record.

They came into the match on the back of a 1-0 win over Belgium on Friday at the King Power Stadium. Hemp scored the game's only goal in the first meeting between the sides.

Greenwood has earned 85 caps for England since making her debut in 2014. The 30-year-old defender has been a key player under Wiegman's management and was one of the stand-out performers in their run to the World Cup final over the summer.

Felix Keith