Weymouth player Haji Mnoga has been left ‘distraught’ after a tackle led to a serious injury to Chesterfield’s Kabongo Tshimanga.
Tshimanga is the National League top goalscorer, however on Saturday, he ended up needing oxygen and was stretchered off late on in the second half as the Spireites drew 1-1, with the hosts’ equaliser coming right at the end.
Chesterfield first team coach Danny Webb said the challenge was ‘reckless’ and should have resulted in a red card, something which went unpunished by referee Greg Rollason.
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— Alex Ambler (@SpireiteAlex) February 13, 2022
Webb said: “He has gone to hospital in an ambulance.
“It does not look good.
“It was a completely reckless challenge.
“He is in the right hands at the minute.
“I am sure everyone’s thoughts are with him and we are all hoping and praying for him that it is not that serious but at the moment it does not look great.
“It is a red card. If Jeff King’s (against Stockport) is a red card then this is a red card.
“I don’t think for one minute the lad would mean to do that to Kabs.
“It (the decision) is a bit baffling but at the minute I don’t want to get caught slaughtering officials when all our thoughts are with Kabs.”
Asked if the injury affected the players, Webb added: “At the time, yes. You can see it quite visibly. It is not nice when people from the home crowd are telling him to get up and get on with it and those lads have seen it up close.
“The gaffer came down and said keep calm.
“I don’t think it affected the result.
“It was a mistake for their goal. The manager has said we were just a little bit too open when they broke through.
“It is a horrible day for different reasons.”
Terras boss David Oldfield said: “He (Mnoga) is distressed.
“He is distraught.
“I want to take this opportunity to put on record that there is no way he meant to hurt Kabongo.
“I know Kabby from when he was a young player at Milton Keynes. He is a great player and he has done fantastically well over his career but this season in particular.
“There is no chance that Haji meant to hurt him.
“I have not seen the tackle back. From my point of view, when Kabby received the ball in some space, I was a bit annoyed and I just turned my back and did not see clearly what happened.
“We are devastated for the player and for Chesterfield but there was certainly no intent from us
“We certainly need to do all we can for Chesterfield’s player.”
Oldfield added: “It was a really difficult game, I thought the boys showed character to come back from a goal down.
“After last week we needed to show something today and the boys certainly did, they worked really hard and managed to get something out of the game.
“I thought it was a good, little team move. There was some quality in the counter and the passes and I thought the boys worked it well.
“It was very nice to see in terms of trying to get something which I think the boys deserved.
Twitter users gave their thoughts as Weymouth player Haji Mnoga says he is ‘distraught’ after his challenge led to a serious injury on Chesterfield’s Kabongo Tshimanga…
@Tom_CFC_: intentional or not maybe he should learn how to tackle properly
@stellainchessy: It shouldn’t take an injury like Kabby’s for him to learn a lesson, the red card against Rotherham should have made him realise how close he could be to doing something like this.
@spireflyer: Sorry you cannot defend this it was dangerous and reckless and he has done it before…
@MatthewWhitton7: I am sure he didnt mean to hurt him but it was a reckless dangerous challenge, I am sure he is not half as distraught as Kabby!!
@spireflyer: Sorry you cannot defend this it was dangerous and reckless and he has done it before…
@chrismarps: Thoughts tonight with Kabongo Tshimanga . There will always be doubt over your injury in your mind. I’m sure you’ll be looked after by the medical team and return to your best. Mentally hope you return stronger. Top player and wishing you all the best in your recovery.
— Chesterfield Football History (@cfchistory_com) February 13, 2022
A reckless, ill-disciplined player is at least as dangerous as one who sets out to do it (if such players exist at our level.)
— Chesterfield Football History (@cfchistory_com) February 13, 2022
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