Chesterfield's Bradley Barry has told how the referee in their League Two match against Morcombe saved him after he swallowed his tongue.
Barry, the nephew of former Aston Villa, Everton and England star Gareth, was knocked out when he copped a boot in the head in the first half of their defeat.
He said his "eyes went black" and his tongue threatened to block his airway but referee Darren Drysdale saved him.
“I’m fine,” he told Chesterfield's website.
“I’m used to it now, it was just a boot to the side of the head and my eyes went black and my tongue was down my throat but when the referee moved me it came back up.
“As soon as my eyes went back to normal and I didn’t want to go off the pitch.”
Barry, 22, added how grateful he was to Drysdale.
“I was on my back and struggling to breathe but he knew exactly what he was doing and flipped me over," he is quoted by The Sun.
"I was lucky because it could have been a lot worse but for the ref who sorted me out. I’m very grateful.”
Adding insult to injury, Barry's Chesterfield were upset 2-0 by Morcambe with goals in each half by Adam McGurk and Garry Thompson.