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A teenage footballer narrowly escaped what could have been a serious injury when a firework came from nowhere to hit the pitch and stuck the player on his leg. Matas Skarna, the victim, later revealed that he thought that his career was over at the time of the incident and he may perhaps never be able to play again.
The 16-year-old from Hornchurch, East London, was representing the Hashtag United in this game on Friday when a firework exploded near his ankle. The footballer also plays for the Lithuanian under-17 team and had only joined the Essex-based club some three weeks ago.
"It just felt like my leg had literally exploded," he said as quoted by BBC.
"The pain for 10 seconds was bad. At first I did not know what had happened," he added.
Hashtag United were 2-0 up against Concord Rangers on Friday which was when the firework landed close to Skrna near the 60th minute and he fell to the ground. This was not all as two more fireworks landed on the pitch after the one that injured Skrna and the incident was reported to Essex Police.
The video of the incident is doing the rounds on the Internet. Check it out here:
The young footballer even revealed his initial thoughts after the incident and said that he was concerned that he might have caused permanent damage to his leg which would prevent him from playing the game again.
"The goalkeeper came to check my chest, how my heart was beating and apparently it was right out of my chest and he told me to calm down," he said as quoted in the same report.
It is being reported that the firework may have come from a private display happening nearby. It hit the ground adjacent to the left wing-back's heel but only burnt his sock which saved the footballer from a serious injury. The match consequently had to be abandoned after the incident.
Earlier Isthmian League club, based at Pitsea in Essex, had tweeted the footballer was "luckily OK".