A former Brentford striker has been hospitalised with a potentially life-threatening injury.
The star was playing in the Bundesliga match between Vfl Bochum and Heidenheim on Friday night in a clash that saw the bottom-placed side take on the team third from bottom in the German top flight.
The game finished 0-0, doing neither side any favours in their bids to stay in the Bundesliga for another campaign as the season draws to a close.
But the focus after the game was elsewhere, with forward Philipp Hofmann rushed to hospital on the back of a nasty collision with Marvin Pieringer just minutes into the game.
While Pieringer was withdrawn, Hofmann was substituted after receiving treatment on the field, with a club statement revealing his issue was ‘potentially life-threatening’.
Bochum revealed their man had suffered a rib fracture, with the rib drilling into his rib skin and triggering a lung collapse.
A former Brentford forward has been rushed to hospital after suffering a ‘potentially life-threatening’ injury
His club revealed their man had suffered a rib fracture, with the rib drilling into his rib skin and triggering a lung collapse
Philipp Hofmann played for Brentford 33 times in the Championship, scoring four goals
They said he had undergone a minor operation, with the 32-year-old undergoing a thoracic drainage to restore lung function.
He will remain in hospital for further treatment and observation until he was healthy enough to leave.
Club managing director Dirk Dufner visited him in hospital on Saturday to give him his best wishes, though it now seems likely he will miss the rest of the season.
Hofmann played 33 times for Brentford in the Championship between 2015 and 2017, scoring four goals. He has also played for the likes of Shalke and Eintracht Braunschweig in his career.
Goalkeeper Kevin Muller, meanwhile, was also rushed to hospital after a clash of heads with Ibrahima Sissoko during the game, with the stopper left unconscious when he tried to punch a ball into the box clear.
He was put into the recovery position by team-mate Tim Siersleben, with privacy screens set up while he was treated by medical staff for a total of 11 minutes on the field.
Muller, 34, regained consciousness on the field before too being taken to hospital.
