A NORTH Wilts Youth League player faces a long road to recovery after sustaining horrific injuries in a League Cup quarter-final game recently.

Substitute Joe Halliday was playing for GESS Under 14s against Chiseldon when he suffered a broken thigh bone and dislocated knee in an extra-time challenge.

The game was abandoned with the score locked at 1-1 and Halliday subsequently underwent an operation at Great Western Hospital.

Joe’s twin brother Chris scored the goal in the abandoned fixture and both are involved in the academy at Reading Football Club.

Mum Debbie Halliday said: "It was absolutely terrible when it happened. His brother Chris was distraught.

"We got him home on Thursday after he'd had the operation and it looks like it will be at least a year before he can think about playing again.”

League chairman Kevan Williams promised to look into the incident when contacted by the Advertiser yesterday and revealed his sympathies towards Joe.

Williams added that serious injuries in youth football were a rare occurrence in his experience.

He said: “I will investigate the situation because the league secretary has not made me aware of an incident of that nature, and it sounds a very nasty injury.

“You definitely don’t want to see a child have to go through that. I’ve broken my leg myself before and it’s not very nice.

“We’re now in our eighth season and I referee most weekends in our league, and I’ve only had one broken leg in that time which was a 50-50 challenge. It was pure bad luck.”

The replay of the League Cup game between GESS and Chiseldon was played on Sunday and the latter emerged 9-0 winners.