Man Utd youth match abandoned after 'serious head injury' to Sekou Kone

Manchester United have seen their under-21s mach against Tamworth abandoned after an injury to Sekou Kone. Kone was stretchered off from the field after suffering a head injury.

In the latter stage of the opening half, Kone was involved in a collision and was still on the ground when the referee blew the whistle for the break as he received treatment. The 19-year-old suffered a bang to the head when defending a corner at The Lamb Ground.

Kone was treated for around 15 minutes before he was stretchered from the field and out of the stadium. The youngster had initially stood up following the injury before returning to the floor as he received medical attention.

In a statement United said: "We can confirm Sekou is conscious, stable and communicating with United’s medical team. He has been taken to hospital, as a precaution, for further checks."

The game was initially suspended before it was abandoned completely. Reports suggested that the teams were originally waiting for a replacement ambulance to arrive at the stadium before a restart could take place.

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United's U21s are in Group A of the cup competition and will also play Brackley, Rochdale and Solihull Moors before the knockout stage. Kone had been joined in the starting line-up for the match against Tamworth by Chido Obi, who was a regular feature of Ruben Amorim's first team squad at the end of last season.

Kone was in the United squad that travelled to the United States this summer. The teenager was joined by goalkeepers Dermot Mee and Will Murdock, defenders Tyler Fredricson and Ayden Heaven, midfielders Toby Collyer and Jack Fletcher, and forwards Bendito Mantato, Obi and Ethan Williams.

Kone was signed from Malian club Guidars FC for around £1million a year ago. The midfielder has yet to feature in a competitive fixture for the United senior side but came on as a substitute against Asean All Stars and Hong Kong.

Kone has been named on the bench by Amorim on a handful of occasions including in the Premier League against Tottenham in February and against Everton and Nottingam Forest.

The club were said to be interested in securing a loan for the young star in order to see him earn more senior minutes this season. United are reported to have place him on a list of players available for a temporary move.

"We have a long way to go," Under-21 coach Travis Binnion told MEN in April. "He broke down at Huddersfield, whereas now he can get through three games in a week. At the next level, first-team level, he wouldn’t be able to because he’s not quite there yet, but his decision-making will make that easier for him physically.

"If he’s not in the right position or he makes the wrong decision, the game then opens up and it’s harder to be consistently in the right positions. It’s a long-term project with him, but his ability is there for all to see.

"I think the position he plays in on the pitch requires a lot of discipline, and we’re working on that discipline and decision-making. He is a really good player, but you can see tonight he’s had three, four or five shots and it’s like, there aren’t too many No.6s who are getting into the areas he is.

"You don’t want to stifle that completely, but if he’s not in the right area of the pitch, then it’s harder for the team to function and it’s harder for him to develop, so he’s working really hard through training and language support."

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