Accrington match abandoned due to serious injury

A serious head injury to Tom Bender forced the abandonment of the Accrington Stanley and Tranmere game.

The 18-year-old Accrington defender is due to undergo a brain scan after being knocked unconscious in the abandoned Johnstone's Paint Trophy match.

He was treated for 25 minutes after colliding with Accrington keeper Ian Dunbavin and Tranmere's Lucas Akins.

Bender was on a drip as he left in an ambulance and is in a "stable condition" in hospital.

The Wales under-21 international, who had made just four first-team club appearances in his career prior to Tuesday's game, is on a season-long loan deal from Colchester.

Assistant manager Jimmy Bell told BBC Sport: "He's been taken to hospital for observation.

Three players went for the ball and they collided - no-one on either side was at fault but our players and the Rovers players are really shook up.

"It is a head injury and we are worried about him. We're waiting to hear from the hospital as he wasn't responding at the time."

Stanley had taken the lead in the ninth minute when Kevin McIntyre's cross was turned into his own goal by Zoumana Bakayogo but Tranmere came back with goals from Ash Taylor and Mustafa Tirkyaka, before play was halted.

Accrington manager John Coleman said: The lads immediately knew something was wrong and waved the physio over straight away.

"He is now in the safest hands and we've just got to hope and pray everything is okay."

Tranmere boss Les Parry added: "It's a game of football and when someone's health is involved that's got to take precedence."

The match was in the second round northern section.

Chief executive Rob Heys told BBC Sport: "It's difficult at this time to say what the injury is but our club doctor and physio ran immediately to his assistance.

"Both sets of players were shaken up by the incident hence why we took the decision to call the game off. It's only a natural reaction when you see a player stay down for so long.

"He was starting to show signs of coming around as he left the ground."

Accrington Stanley said on the club's official Twitter account that the game had been abandoned due to a "serious injury" to Bender.

Also writing on Twitter, former Wales international Robbie Savage said: "Hope young Tom Bender is going to be ok. My thoughts are with him and [his] family."

source: bbc sport