Watford goalkeeper Huerelho Gomes has revealed that he feared he had broken his neck in a recent game against Aston Villa. The Brazilian ‘keeper fell awkwardly in his penalty area during the Hornets’ 3-2 win at Villa Park recently, and was treated on the pitch for an extended period.
Gomes was taken off in a neck brace with an oxygen mask, but thankfully suffered no serious damage. The ex Spurs and PSV Eindhoven stopper has revealed that he feared the worst upon landing, “I still have some problems turning to my right side because it was a big collision – two days afterwards, I was having dizzy spells – but I went to see the specialist and he assured me everything was OK.
“The decision to play against Norwich last week was only taken after training on the Friday, but finally I felt good in the game itself. Of course your health comes first and our medical staff were very careful because this is not the first time I’ve had a problem like this and I needed to tell them I felt safe to play.”
Gomes says that this is not the first heavy blow he has taken whilst minding the nets, “At Tottenham in 2008, I had two front teeth knocked out in a collision and I needed dental implants, which is why I always wear a gumshield now, and I was knocked out for 10 minutes.
“I didn’t remember anything about it, and I had to ask my family what had happened, yet I played three days later. At Villa, the main problem was that immediately I felt stiff in my neck and I was worried. After the impact of collision, I jumped to my feet because the ball was still in play, but I went down again because I was feeling dizzy.
“The first thing I tried to do, when they were fitting the protective brace around my neck, was to move my arms and legs because I was worried about having full movement. There are lots of little bones in your neck that you can damage, but we went straight to hospital and the doctor said there were no broken bones, which is the most important thing.”
