A FRIGHTENING injury to midfield player Ed Parkes brought the Dudley Knights latest conquest to a sudden halt on Saturday.

The 24-year-old was knocked unconscious for 10 minutes when he was hit by a ball towards the end of the first half of the clash at Pershore, which Dudley trailed 5-0.

He was taken to Alexandra Hospital in Redditch where he was treated for concussion and later given the all clear by doctors.

It was a dramatic finish to a good start to the game as Sol Buckner’s troops stood firm for 12 minutes before the hosts opened the scoring.

Despite having only 10 men, the Knights repelled wave upon wave of attacks but rarely threatened in front of goal. Buckner almost poked the ball past the keeper on 16 minutes following a short corner.

But the pressure finally told as Pershore broke through and fired four quick goals past stranded keeper Martin Matthews. The hosts also missed two penalties before the match was abandoned after Parkes injury.

Buckner said: “It was the most frightening injury I have seen in 20 years of hockey. Ed was out cold and at one point we thought he wasn’t breathing any more.

“We thought he might have fractured an eye socket or worse. It’s astounding all he had was a bad headache.”

Due to health and safety issues with the synthetic pitch at Ormiston and Sandwell Community Academy in Tividale, sports teams can no longer use the facility.

The Knights now have two new venues for training and home games. On Saturday they will welcome Kynoch to Earls High School in Halesowen for a 2pm push back. Training is now at Hillcrest High School from 7.30pm.