Burnley midfielder Ashley Westwood suffered a horror injury against West Ham which left opponent Nikola Vlasic overcome by emotion.
The injury was sustained midway through the first half at the London Stadium, after Westwood and Vlasic vied for a loose ball in the middle of the park. The former Aston Villa man stayed down and gestured towards the bench after suffering what looked like a serious ankle injury, and Vlasic needed to be consoled by teammates as he walked away from the incident.
Westwood was stretchered off the pitch after receiving lengthy treatment, with Josh Brownhill taking his place. Burnley will wait on the prognosis, and fans have wished him a speedy recovery.
Vlasic, who was back in the West Ham United team after starting on the bench for their Europa League quarter-final win at Lyon, was left in tears while his opponent received treatment. Moments after Westwood left the field, Burnley took the lead through Wout Weghorst, though the attention of many was still on the injured player.
32-year-old midfielder Westwood has been a regular for Burnley since joining the club under Sean Dyche. He played every single game in the league last season and has remained a fixture in the middle of the park.
There have been plenty of messages of support on social media. "He must be seriously injured by the look on Vlasic's and Cress' [Aaron Cresswell] face...wish him all the best," read one response."
The lengthy delay meant a minumum of nine minutes were added on at the end of the first half at the London Stadium, but there were further delays owing to the award of a penalty to the visitors.
After Weghorst handed the away side the lead, Maxwel Cornet missed a golden chance to put them 2-0 up in time added on when he fired wide from the penalty spot. Burnley were playing their first game without long-serving manager Sean Dyche, who had been relieved of his duties on Friday.
The trip to London came with Burnley continuing to battle against relegation. Fellow strugglers Watford had been beaten by Brentford on Saturday, but Everton - the team one place above the Clarets in the table - were not in action.
"This is sounding serious," one Burnley fan tweeted after learning of Westwood's injury. "Please keep us updated, its worrying. This has turned out to be a very bad week for the Club."
"Best wishes to Westy, looks horrible," another said. West Ham also sent their best wishes to the player, as did a number of their fans on social media.
"Couldn't see what happened, it must have been awful from the reaction by Vlasic, wishing him a speedy recovery," one wrote. "Hope Westwood isn't as bad as it looks and that he recovers quickly for the future," was the response from another.
