Kotoko’s talismanic forward Ahmed Toure was rushed to hospital after breaking his arm in their loss to Edubiase on Wednesday.
The Ivorian had been quiet for large spells of the game in Bekwai, with Edubiase’s Carlos Coffie detailed to man-mark him.
In the final moments, an off the ball incident left Toure writhing in agony on the field while ref S.B. Bortey waited for the ball to go out of touch.
Medics attended to Toure and realizing the seriousness of the situation, gingerly carried him off the field. The Ivorian then asked what was wrong with him and upon being told, broke into silent tears.
According Kotoko team doctor Kwaku Boateng, the initial outlook for Toure will be a six to eighth-weeks layoff.
“We hope to get a better picture of events when we perform a scan in a few hours,” he told SuperSport.com at the scene.
The Red Cross team on hand partnered with the Kotoko doctors to bandage the player’s midsection as well as his left arm, which had suffered the injury. By the time the bandaging was done, the player was in tears.
He was carried on a wheeled stretcher to the waiting ambulance, with the rest of the Kotoko fans who had stayed after the defeat in shock at the turn of events.
“This guy’s partnership with Asamoah has been our main weapon. Now that he is injured it will be a big problem,” a Kotoko fan said.
Toure has scored six goals in eight appearances for the reds.
The fixture itself started with the porcupines unable to keep Edubiase at bay in terms of possession. The only goal of the game came through Edubiase’s main scorer, Emmanuel Baffour, who rose high to head home a corner.
Another talking point had been the sending off of Michael Akuffo, who left a trailing leg in tackle. It gave Edubiase a numerical advantage which Kotoko were unable to bridge.
After the match, Maxwell Konadu admitted that Edubiase had been the better side.