Former Liverpool star hospitalised after horror collision on pitch

A former Liverpool FC star has been hospitalised after a horror collision with a teammate.

As Nottingham Forest defeated Brighton 3-1 and climbed out of the relegation zone, the City Ground side on Wednesday suffered a setback. During the fixture, their full-back Neco Williams had a nasty head collision with team-mate Brennan Johnson. Forest's medical staff immediately rushed to Williams on the field.

The collision

The Welsh defender received lengthy treatment before being stretchered off in the 64th minute. When Williams was taken off the field, the scores were level on 1-1. A few minutes later, Forest midfielder Danilo put his side back into the lead, which was his first goal for the club. England's Morgan Gibbs-White successfully scored an injury-time penalty to seal a 3-1 victory for the home side.

After Williams was replaced by Cheikhou Kouyate, it was known that the Forest defender was being treated for a concussion.

Following Forest's superb victory, boss Steve Cooper confirmed that Williams had been taken to hospital.

"I had a look when he came off and I saw blood. So fingers crossed it is not too bad, his health comes first regardless of results," Cooper said.

Following the incident, the 22-year-old defender received quite of few positive messages from supportive fans.

Williams started his football journey when he joined Liverpool's academy as a six-year-old. He impressed through the youth ranks, representing the club at U18, U19 and U23 levels, as well as in the UEFA Youth League. He later made it to the first team in the 2019-20 campaign. Williams was part of the Liverpool side that won their maiden Premier League title that season and before that, he also lifted the Club World Cup with the Reds in Qatar.

After being with Jurgen Klopp's side for three seasons, Williams moved to Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2022. When Forest travelled to Merseyside last Saturday, Williams was one of Forest's scorers at Anfield, but his side ended up losing 3-2.

Williams still shares a fine relationship with his former boss, Klopp. In a video on Liverpool's YouTube channel after their victory over Forest, Williams was seen waiting for Klopp to come into the tunnel. When the two met, they shared a hug and exchanged a few words as Williams appeared all smiles catching up with the former Borussia Dortmund head coach.

Growing injury issues at Nottingham Forest

Meanwhile, the victory over Brighton was Forest's first win in 12 games in the Premier League. But it was a massive blow to eighth-placed Brighton who are trying to qualify for Europe for the inaugural time.

But the latest triumph of Forest came at a cost as the club already had 12 players out with injuries. Just 14 minutes into the first half on Wednesday, Forest also lost Senegalese centre-back Moussa Niakhaté to a hamstring injury.

Regarding the injuries, Cooper, whose side is set to travel to Brentford on Saturday, said: "It is a good win. I'm over the moon and so pleased for the players and fans. But we haven't won in months and I was walking off the pitch thinking: 'Let's get ready for Brentford'. You think of the penalty miss and injuries, for the players to show that resilience and mentality. We got through it and we should take a lot of heart from that. We have to believe. We are in control of our destiny."

Forest, who are playing in the Premier League for the first time since the 1998-99 season, are currently placed 17th in the English top-flight table. While they would not want to be back in The Championship, they are just a point away from the relegation zone.