EAST Cowes Vics had a major scare on the touchline on Tuesday evening after one of their players collided with a metal barrier and had to be treated for a serious head injury.

After being told there would be up to a five-hour wait for an ambulance on the mainland, Vics manager Alex Smith said it was quicker to take the stricken player back to St Mary's Hospital for treatment. 

It meant injured Tyler Greenslade did not arrive at A&E until about 1.30am, and was not discharged until some six hours later. 

Early into their midweek fixture against Andover Town in Wessex League Division One — a 7-1 defeat — there was a coming together between Greenslade and an Andover player.

An innocuous challenge saw the Island defender hit his head on a metal barrier and crash through netting.

The Vics full back ended up on a concrete path with a nasty gash to his forehead.

“The metal barrier surrounds the pitch and is very close to the touchline,” said Smith.

“Thankfully, there were two Andover medical staff at the ground to help him.

“His head was bleeding quite a lot and we were also concerned he might have dislocated or broken his shoulder.

“We were told there would be up to a five-hour wait time for an ambulance.

“There was a 20-minute delay before the restart of the game, so I think it did play on the players’ minds.

“It was a bit traumatic and, while we were getting regular updates on the touchline, the players didn’t know how he was doing.

“After the game, we had to get the midnight ferry back to the Island and take Tyler to St Mary’s Hospital.

“He was there from around 1.30am to 7am in the morning.

“I think they glued his head wound rather than stitch it, while his shoulder injury turned out to be a bad strain.

“While it wasn’t nice, it could have been a lot worse.

“We’d like to wish Tyler well in his recovery and thank the Andover medical staff who were very helpful.”