Togolese Midfielder Samuel Asamoah Suffers Broken Neck In Chinese League Match

Togolese international Samuel Asamoah, 31, sustained a broken neck and nerve damage after crashing into a pitch-side LED advertising board during a Chinese League One match on Sunday, his club Guangxi Pingguo confirmed.

Video footage showed Asamoah being pushed by Chongqing Tonglianglong’s Zhang Zhixiong while contesting the ball, sending him head-first into the panel. Zhang received a yellow card for the incident.

The midfielder underwent surgery shortly after the collision. Guangxi Pingguo stated that Asamoah faces the risk of high-level paraplegia and will miss the rest of the season, with his career possibly affected.

A club update on Wednesday confirmed he was recovering and in stable condition, with further information to be shared following medical reviews.

The LED board was placed three metres from the pitch, a distance Chinese football authorities said complies with international standards.

Asamoah, who has six international caps for Togo, previously played in Belgium before joining the Chinese club last year.