And suddenly it was no longer about football in Westerlo-OH Leuven… “I put my hand on his head for seven minutes to calm him down” – Football News

At OH Leuven it wasn’t really about football after the match against Westerlo, no one was in the mood for that after what happened on the field ten minutes before the end.

Westerlo goalkeeper Nick Gillekens fell with his full weight on Nathan Opoku’s leg after a collision. The OH Leuven striker suffered an open fracture. He had just come on as a substitute, returning from an injury…

Siebe Schrijvers was clearly affected by the situation. “Whether it was a deserved draw is not really of interest to me tonight,” he begins at Het Nieuwsblad.

“My feelings are completely with Nathan. It seems very serious to me, you can see that. We had to stand around him for ten minutes to calm him down. I even put my hand on his head for seven minutes to calm him down.”

After the collision, goalkeeper Gillekens ran away. The home fans were sitting right in front of where it happened, chanting the name of their goalkeeper. While Opoku lay a few meters in front of them with an open fracture.

Something that Schrijvers is not happy about. “If we stand around a player for so long who ultimately has to be taken away on a stretcher, people should realize that the situation is serious. It’s a shame that something like this can still happen in a football stadium in 2024.”

Coach Oscar Garcia provided an update afterwards. It really doesn’t look good. “I think at least the shin bone is broken, and it may be even worse. All my thoughts are with Nathan. You immediately saw that it was a serious injury, even though he had only just returned from a previous injury. I think of him. Hopefully he can recover as quickly as possible.”