Club captain suffers brain injury after falling down stairs during pre-season tour and will never play again
Star midfielder Tom Wise was left fighting for his life as he fell into a coma in hospital with his girlfriend and family flying out to be at his bedside
A FOOTBALL team’s captain will never kick a ball again after falling down a set of stairs during his club’s pre-season tour.
Star midfielder Tom Wise, 26, was in Latvia with his teammates when he suffered the severe head injury.
Tom, who plays for Panteg AFC in Torfaen, Wales, was trying to find his way down a flight of stairs in the dark with a friend after a night out in the Latvian capital Riga.
He was sent tumbling after misjudging a step in the "pitch black" darkness and was taken to hospital where he fell into a coma.
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As Tom, from Cwmbran in south Wales, was fighting for his life his girlfriend Megan Rees, 26, flew from Britain to be at his bedside along with members of his family.
Tom's brother-in-law and said: “The doctors are confident that he will be able to return to work, but unfortunately it is unlikely that he will play sport again.”
As well as running Panteg’s midfield, Tom works as a conveyancer for a law firm.
Peter added: “It was pitch black and at the time, he was only with one other guy from the team.
“There are a lot of hospitals in Riga so it made it hard to find where Tom was initially.”
Tom has since been allowed to return to Wales to be rehabilitated in Rookwood Hospital, Cardiff.
Teammates have raised over £4,500 for their stricken captain by putting on events including a 12-hour long continuous row and have planned a 10k run for next week.
The team are also training for a cycle ride from Chepstow to Swansea, a distance of over 85km as the crow flies.
Peter said: “It isn’t the amount of money that is important to us.
“We just want to show Tom and all those around him that we are still behind him, even if he can’t play alongside us again.”
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