A footballer had to have his spleen removed after a freak accident during a match - after his elbow went into his side as he landed awkwardly from a header.

Corey Holder spoke of the terrifying moment he was told he could have died following the horror incident in an innocuous challenge while playing for non-league Kent side Chatham Town.

The 22-year-old defender won a header and landed awkwardly on his left elbow during the Ryman League clash at Romford on Wednesday night.

He said: 'I was in excruciating pain around my stomach are which would not go away. I had never felt pain like it before.

'It was like a winding pain, a stitch and a stomach cramp all rolled into one.'

The JD Sports worker from Camberwell Green in south London was taken to Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Kent where he had X-rays to check if he had broken his ribs.

It was only when he had an MRI scan the extent of the injury was discovered.

He said: 'All this time I had lost two litres of blood from my spleen.

'The doctor said if I would have gone home I would have died in my sleep.'

Holder had to undergo an operation to remove his spleen.

The qualified football coach’s mum, auntie and girlfriend rushed to hospital to join his two best mates who kept a bedside vigil.

Holder, who will have to take medication every day for the rest of his life, can’t wait to get back on the football pitch.

'I’ve been told I should be back playing in about three months. It’s just a case of waiting for the injury to heel.

'It hasn’t put me off football.

'If I would do it another 100 times it wouldn’t happen again. It was just a freak accident.'