Burnley midfielder Ashley Westwood went down and immediately signalled to the bench on 22 minutes in the Clarets' clash with West Ham; Nikola Vlasic and other players were visibly upset; Westwood taken to hospital as Burnley await further news
Monday 18 April 2022 12:25, UK
Burnley's Ashley Westwood was stretchered off with a serious leg injury and taken to hospital after a collision with Nikola Vlasic that left the West Ham player visibly distressed.
The injury occurred after a 50-50 challenge with Vlasic on 22 minutes of the Premier League match, which left the Burnley man in agony and signalling to the bench.
He was treated for 10 minutes on the pitch by the medical staff before being stretchered off to a standing ovation by both sets of fans at the London Stadium.
Vlasic was almost in tears after witnessing the injury, while other players were also visibly upset by the incident.
Burnley caretaker manager Mike Jackson confirmed to Sky Sports in his post-match interview following the 1-1 draw that Westwood had been taken to hospital.
"He has gone to hospital and they are having a look at it at this moment in time," he said. "Obviously we know it doesn't look too good, but fingers crossed it's not as bad [as it seemed].
"The incident with Ash affected the group... because he's their mate. We're just hoping he's okay. Given everything that has gone on this week and what has happened in the game today, it's a good point for us, in the end."
Speaking after the match, West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek said: "It was a horrible injury and I just hope Westwood feels very good, very soon. I just wish him all the best."
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Jackson revealed West Ham captain Declan Rice came over to the Burnley bench to alert them to the seriousness of Westwood's injury.
The stand-in Clarets boss said: "Declan Rice came over and said straight away that it's not good.
"Straight away you can see from the reaction of the players and the lad himself, who I've seen put his hand up, and he doesn't go down.
"It's not good, but they're a good group and they came together, but our thoughts are with Ash at this moment in time."
Asked whether Westwood had suffered a serious ankle injury, Jackson responded: "Honestly, I couldn't tell you.
"I've just seen the lad coming off and he looked distraught, but fingers crossed we hope he's okay.
"You could see it wasn't good. You can see that from the reaction of the players, so that was a big blow to the group that.
"He's been here for a long time, Ash, and he's well thought of in the group so we're just hoping that he's okay."
With only seven matches left in Burnley's season, the injury is likely to rule Westwood out for the rest of the season but Jackson is confident other players can step up in their bid for Premier League survival.
"You're probably right in saying that could be the end of his season," he said, "but there's a squad here that are here to play; that's why you have a squad for people to step up.
"Josh [Brownhill] has come in today and done really well when he's been called upon."
West Ham boss David Moyes believes Westwood's injury affected his team's performance after they conceded just three minutes after the 32-year-old was stretchered off.
Asked whether the injury upset his side, the Hammers manager said: "Yeah, we turned off for the incidents.
"We gave away a free kick, they crossed it and they ended up getting a corner from it which they scored from, so it wasn't very good from us.
"Before Ashley Westwood's injury we had got in a bit of rhythm. We were the better team after the opening period and actually I think that [Westwood's injury] took us out of it again.
"After the goal we weren't very good up until half time, but we got better in the second half and we missed chances, but for us today the result was everything, and the only thing that mattered.
"I think the stoppages didn't help us because it made us go back to where we'd started the game, but by the end we had probably just about done enough to earn a victory."
Asked how Vlasic was following the incident, Moyes said: "I think he's okay. I've not seen the incident again, but they tell me that he's nowhere near it really and there's nothing involved in it, so he's got nothing to be concerned about.
"If you're involved in anything like that it can have an effect on you. I think he was really upset that another player had got what we thought at the time was a serious injury and probably is, as I've not heard what it is."
