Lille’s Angel Gomes hospitalised after head injury in Ligue 1 clash

Lille midfielder Angel Gomes is doing well after being hospitalised with a serious head injury that left him unconscious during Saturday’s Ligue 1 match at Stade de Reims, club president Olivier Letang said.

The match was stopped while the 23-year-old Gomes was treated on the pitch for more than 30 minutes after colliding with Reims midfielder Amadou Koné in the 11th minute. He was carried off on a stretcher as fans from both clubs chanted the former Manchester United man’s name.

The match restarted with Kone sent off and 34 minutes added to the first half. Lille won 2-0, with Bafodé Diakité and Jonathan David scoring towards the end of each half.

After the final whistle, both teams posed with a Reims shirt with the text “Take care Angel” in French.

“Angel Gomes is doing quite well, but we’ll wait and see how he spends the night and what the additional tests are before we can definitively say that we have a ‘happy ending’,” Letang said after the match.

More than football ❤️@StadeDeReims #SDRLOSC photo.twitter.com/Bul6TvmLiH

— LOSC (@LOSC_NL) August 17, 2024

Lille head coach Bruno Genesio said he knew immediately that the injury was serious and was frustrated that medical treatment on the pitch was not carried out more quickly.

“We were very, very scared. The latest news is reassuring, but it is better to be careful,” Genesio said in a post-match interview.

“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 our players attacked, because it’s an attack, is very hard to live with.”

Genesio said some of his players were close to tears during the ordeal.

“Well done for getting the job done, because it’s never easy. And it’s good for Angel that we have the first reassuring news,” he added.

“Angel asked if he would play (next) Saturday, which is a good sign if he has a sense of humor. For me, tonight’s game was secondary.”

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.