Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei was taken from the pitch in an ambulance with a suspected head injury after a frightening collision in stoppage time of the Sounders 1-1 Major League Soccer draw with Columbus on Sunday.
Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said shortly after the game that the Swiss keeper was alert when he was loaded into the ambulance but was being evaluated in hospital and the team were waiting for “clarity” on his injury.
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“Stefan is being evaluated for a head and neck injury,” Schmetzer said. “He got hit pretty hard. We’re in the early stages of that evaluation.
“As soon as we get a definitive, a real, good clarity on the extent of the injury, we’ll give you more. I don’t want to speculate.
“He is going to the hospital, but he is fine,” he added. “He was alert when he was loaded onto the ambulance… I’m very happy for our medical staff because they did a good job to be careful.”
The match was in the seventh minute of injury time when Columbus was awarded a free kick outside the box. Frei took a knee to the head when he collided with a Columbus player.
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He lay motionless for several seconds then rolled onto his side, his teammates calling for assistance.
Players from both teams stood and watched as Frei was treated on the pitch and put into the ambulance and the match was halted at the behest of both coaches.
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