A PROMISING young footballer could have had his career cut short after sustaining serious injuries while playing for a semi-professional Bradford club.

Jamie Underdown, 20, damaged three of the four ligaments in his knee, as well as suffering a dislocated kneecap, while playing for Thackley AFC.

The former Bradford City academy player was injured in the Dennyboy’s 3-1 home defeat against Hemsworth Miners Welfare in the Northern Counties East Football League on Saturday, November 11.

As a result of the challenge, for which the Hemsworth defender received a straight red card, Sarah Underdown said her son will need 18 months of treatment and physiotherapy just to be able to walk again.

Mr Underdown suffered a completely severed anterior cruciate ligament and lateral cruciate ligament, and a badly ruptured posterior cruciate ligament, and there is serious doubt whether he will be able to play football again.

Footage from the Wells TV YouTube channel - incident from 6:20

To help him cope with the setback and hopefully return to playing football, Mrs Underdown has set up a crowdfunding campaign aiming to raise £10,000 for a wheelchair, physiotherapy, and other equipment to aid his recovery.

He had his first round of surgery last week and remains in hospital, still requiring a full knee reconstruction.

Mrs Underdown, 42, said she was told by the surgeon his “best case scenario was to get the knee working without pain”.

“He said Jamie might never play football again,” she said.

“When he was told he cried and broke down, football is his life and this has been devastating.

“He has been playing since he was four years old and started playing at Gildersome.

“He has only been at Thackley for about three months, he was playing in New Zealand last season and signed for Brighouse when he got back.

“He is totally dedicated, he trains hard and hardly drinks, it has just been horrendous and its impossible to describe how we feel.”

He has been visited in hospital by his family, including brothers Mason, nine, and Kieron, 17.

Mrs Underdown added: “His brothers are both devastated too, they both play football and they both look up to him and idolise him.”

Mr Underdown currently works part-time at luxury retailer Flannels in Leeds, and his mother said the shop has been “really supportive”.

The family lives in the Morley area of Leeds, close to the home of Leeds United, Elland Road.

While he doesn’t have his own player insurance, Mrs Underdown said the club is looking to claim on its own insurance for the injury.

She also hopes her son’s injury will trigger a clampdown on dangerous challenges in the grassroots game.

“With these kind of tackles, sometimes they are accidental but they can change people’s lives.

“We need to stop people from making tackles like this because they might not realise the effects they can have.

“At grassroots levels, these tackles should be a no go.”

To support her son through his recovery, Mrs Underdown is aiming to raise £10,000 to help him live independently, by using the money to get him a wheelchair and also to get extra physiotherapy to help him pursue his dream to get back playing football.

She added: “He needs help because he can’t walk or do anything he used to be able to do.

“He needs the wheelchair to get around independently because when you are using to doing things for yourself it is hard to rely on other people.

“We also would like to get him more physio as he still wants to get back playing and is determined to do so.”

To donate to the campaign, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jamieunderdown