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Goalkeeper plays with 'broken neck'

Bert Trautmann rubs his broken neck after winning the FA Cup with Manchester City in 1956 © Getty Images

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A goalkeeper for Newcastle United played on after suffering a suspected broken neck in a collision with a team-mate.

Laura Wareham, 21, suffered the injury after only 15 minutes against Bradford City on Sunday after she and defender Kate Brooks combined to stop a Bradford forward scoring. She was rushed to hospital, where doctors feared she had snapped her spine near the base of her skull.

Wareham told the Newcastle Chronicle: "They took me off - which I was quite angry about as I wanted to keep playing - but sat on the bench I felt sick and then at half time the physio went to walk with me into the changing rooms and I collapsed.

"It was crazy and really scary, with the doctors talking about me potentially needing surgery."

Wareham has broken her neck before, after an accidental kick from a Leicester City striker in 2011 put her out for a year.

"Lots of people have asked me if it's not time to retire," Wareham said, "but I'm definitely not.

"If it's only ligament and soft tissue damage this time, then I'll be back to playing in the new year. I'm more gutted that I'll miss football than I am about being injured.

"I won't be scared going back - I wasn't last time."

Wareham is not the first goalkeeper to suffer a serious neck injury and play on. The late Manchester City goalkeeper Bert Trautmann is best remembered for playing the final 17 minutes of City's 1956 FA Cup final win against Birmingham City with a broken neck.

Wareham has since been allowed to return home but must return to see a neurologist next week.

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