Lee Seung-Mo
A South Korean footballer suffered a broken neck after falling horribly during a play-off clash in the national K-League.
Lee Seung-Mo, a 20-year-old player for Gwangju FC, landed on his neck after going up for a header in the 1-0 defeat against Daejeon Citizen.
The player also broke his finger and suffered memory loss after he was knocked out following the horrendous fall.
A spokesperson for Gwangju FC said that Lee would remarkably make a full recovery, and had suffered no injuries to his head – although he had broken three bones in his neck.
The player will be out for up to three months, it was confirmed, and will spend at least a fortnight in hospital recovering.
‘He only remembers going for the header and then lost his memory until he arrived at the emergency room.
‘He regained consciousness after arrival at the emergency room in Yuseong-Sun Hospital. He complained of pain in his back. There was no abnormality in the CT scan, only three fractures of the cervical vertebrae.
‘He was transferred to the hospital of Chosun University in Gwangju and interviewed with a neurosurgeon. The left-hand finger fracture was also confirmed.
‘He will be discharged from hospital for two to three weeks after stabilisation and restoration because there are no other abnormalities. It will take two to three months to recover completely.’
Lee is one of the rising stars of South Korean football and played alongside Tottenham’s Son Heung-min in their Asian Games triumph earlier this year.