Lille‘s game against Stade de Reims was halted for more than 30 minutes after Angel Gomes was knocked unconscious in a collision and needed lengthy treatment.
Lille’s 2-0 victory was overshadowed by the serious head injury sustained by Gomes, an English attacking midfielder, after a collision with Reims’ Amadou Koné in the 11th minute.
Gomes received medical attention for more than 20 minutes before being carried off on a stretcher. The 19-year-old Koné was shown a red card.
More than football ❤️@StadeDeReims #SDRLOSC pic.twitter.com/Bul6TvmLiH
— LOSC (@LOSC_EN) August 17, 2024
Lille later said on social media that Gomes had regained consciousness and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
“Angel is doing pretty well,” Lille’s club president Olivier Létang said. “But we’ll wait to find out how he spends the night, with his additional tests, before saying that we have a clear happy ending.”
When the match resumed after a 35-minute break, Lille quickly took control.
Bafodé Diakité opened the scoring just before half-time, and Canadian striker Jonathan David sealed the victory in stoppage time with a goal assisted by Ethan Mbappé, the younger brother of Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé, who made his first appearance for Lille.
After the final whistle, both teams posed with a Reims jersey with the words “Take care Angel ” written in French.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.