Doctors at Northampton General Hospital were today expected to perform a delicate skin graft procedure following an operation on Cobblers striker Alex Nicholls’ broken leg.
The forward suffered a double compound fracture of his left leg following a heavy challenge from Port Vale skipper John McCombe as he slotted home the home side’s opener at Sixfields on Saturday.
McCombe, who was sent off for the desperate lunge, apologised to Cobblers boss Aidy Boothroyd after the game and said it was an honest attempt to win the ball.
Nicholls, aged 24, received treatment on the pitch for 12 minutes before an ambulance was eventually brought onto the playing surface to convey him to hospital, where he was joined by his family who had come to Sixfields to watch the game.
He underwent an operation at the weekend, with surgeons inserting a pin in his tibia to stabilise the leg. A skin graft was then due to be carried out on Monday.
Cobblers have been praised for the medical attention given to Nicholls, with the club physio Stuart Barker joined on the pitch by Dr Andrew Odwell to administer treatment.
A club spokesman said: “We always have an ambulance on site at our matches, and if the crowd is expected to be over 5,000 (which it was on Saturday) we also have a paramedic vehicle in addition.
“The ambulance is technically there to deal with any crowd issues, but of course it can deal with issues involving players as well, which is what happened on Saturday. A second ambulance was summoned to be on standby for any crowd issues.”
Despite a small minority of Port Vale fans shouting abuse at Nicholls as he received treatment, all four corners of the ground rose to give the striker a standing ovation as the ambulance left the pitch.
Cobblers fans also chanted ‘There’s only one Alex Nicholls’ as the full-time whistle blew to signal their best wishes for the popular frontman, who now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
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