Boyle able to provide health update after horror head blow in Cup loss
Martin Boyle has thanked Hibs and Rangers medical staff after being released from hospital following a head injury in the Scottish Cup.
Hibs released a statement on Monday revealing that Boyle, who was stretchered off and taken straight to hospital after lengthy onpitch treatment just before half-time, had suffered concussion. The club also thanked the Rangers medical staff for joining their Hibs counterparts in attending to Boyle during a hotlycontested Scottish Cup quarter-final that ended in a 2-0 win for the visitors and two red cards for their hosts.
Hibs boss Nick Montgomery says Boyle was left feeling ‘like he’d been on a night out’ the morning after his frightening injury incident at Easter Road. But Monty believes the winger was ‘fortunate’ to avoid a more serious neck injury following the aerial collision with Rangers defender John Souttar.
Taking to social media, Boyle has confirmed he is at home with family. He said: "Would like to thank everyone for the messages of support appreciate it a lot! Big thanks to the Hibs & Rangers medical staff for looking after me on the pitch after the incident. Thank you to the royal infirmary Hospital and the team for looking after me when I arrived. Home now to recover with the family."
Montgomery revealed that he’d talked to Boyle twice after the incident, saying: “I spoke to Martin [on Sunday night]. He felt a little bit groggy, but fortunately he’s had all the X-rays and scans that have come back OK, so hopefully he’s symptom-free in the next couple of days, then there’s a protocol behind that.
“I spoke to him again [on Monday] morning and he was still a little bit groggy. Like he’d been on a night out, so he probably knows what that feels like! Fingers crossed he makes a speedy recovery, and all thoughts are with Martin now.
"I didn’t really see the incident until afterwards, but it’s a heavy fall and he landed on his head. There is always the risk he could have a neck injury. The fact that was cleared last night is really fortunate for Martin and for us. I think the protocol is five or six days symptom-free. So hopefully he feels better today, and that puts him in the time frame for this weekend’s game. But he’s definitely out of Wednesday’s game.”
Scottish football's existing concussion protocols dictate that Boyle will have to be completely symptom-free – no headaches, blurred vision, sickness or inability to focus on mental tasks – before he's even allowed to begin light training on his own.
Nathan Moriah-Welsh will also miss tomorrow night’s Scottish Premiership clash with Ross County in Dingwall after being shown a straight red card for a challenge on John Lundstram in yesterday’s game – but Jordan Obita, dismissed after being cautioned twice, is cleared to play.
Fingers crossed he makes a speedy recovery, and all thoughts are with Martin now