Goalkeeper Jack Ruddy was knocked out cold on a nightmare East Kilbride debut at the weekend that saw him taken to hospital suffering from concussion.
The 24-year-old joined Kilby at the start of the month and got his first start in a friendly clash away to Forth Wanderers.
However, a nasty clash of heads at the end of the first half as he went to claim a high ball left him unconscious, and he was stretchered off the field for an awaiting ambulance to take him to hospital.
Thankfully, the former Wolves shot-stopper is recovering well at home and is on the mend.
East Kilbride ran out 6-0 winners in the end, but the most important thing for boss Kevin Rutkiewicz is that his player is doing well.
He explained: “Jack suffered a concussion on Saturday but thankfully he is absolutely fine now.
“He did lose consciousness for a brief period - it was seconds – and he was a bit sensitive to the light when he came round.
“There were definitely immediate signs a head knock had taken place and it was about making sure he got the right treatment.
“The Forth physio immediately signalled that he needed an ambulance and it was the right thing to do.
“Taking the right precautions is the way to go with head knocks.
“He was taken to hospital to give him the once over, but he is in good spirits.
“On Sunday night he was still feeling the after effects and a bit groggy.
"He is determined to get back quickly, but we are legally bound to go through the right procedures with Jack now and it will be a minimum of eight days non-contact for him.
”He was very well treated by the Forth physio and we were fortunate our club doctor [Sam Miller] was there as well.
“It’s not ideal for Jack, but we need him back in the right manner, not quickly.
“He’s in good hands – if you pardon the pun – and we all wish him a speedy recovery.”
It was a game that had already taken a turn when the Forth goalkeeper went off injured midway through the first half and was replaced by East Kilbride’s substitute goalie Adam McLean, with Wanderers only having one keeper available.
And that meant when Ruddy was carted off, McLean was then forced to swap goals to go between the sticks for EK, while the Forth goalkeeping coach pulled on the gloves for the hosts.
Rutkiewicz added: “I suppose the good news is we got good minutes into both keepers. Big Adam was in goal for Forth initially because they were short and then he had to come back to us when Jack got injured.
“The Forth goalie coach ended up going in for them when Adam had to go back in goal for us.
“It was a shame for Jack. He had started quite brightly and had two really good saves early on.
“He looked pretty good, but as Jack has said to me, hopefully this is him getting the bad luck out of the way just now.”
The club posted an update from Ruddy, in which he said: “I’m back home. Resting up, and doing okay.
“The club were great in dealing with the situation, and a thank you to everyone that was concerned.”
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