STRIKER Jacob Blyth has escaped a broken arm after a shocking incident which saw Barrow AFC's opening pre-season match against Furness Select called off after just 33 minutes.

New signing Blyth was involved in a battle for possession with Kane Fitch near the Furness goal-line, which ended with him going through the sponsorship boards at the end of the pitch and rolling across the terracing and into the external wall.

It was feared the 25-year-old had a suspected triple break – to his wrist, elbow and shoulder areas – but scans Furness General Hospital showed a dislocated shoulder and no fracture to the elbow area. His wrist will need further scans in the coming week.

The match initially continued after Blyth's injury, but it was called off at the request of AFC manager Ian Evatt following a long delay while players and officials awaited the arrival of an ambulance.

“It's obviously very upsetting, and our thoughts are obviously with the player,” Evatt said in the immediate aftermath of the game. “I'm a bit speechless, more than anything else.

“It was an avoidable incident, and I just feel that the way it has all been handled has not been ideal, to say the least.

“As I say, my thoughts primarily are with making sure that Jacob is okay. He looked in fantastic physical condition, and this week he has been great at training. He was just ready to show everyone what he could do. I just feel sorry for him.

“Times like this are really challenging – we've got to stick together as a group and come back stronger.”

A statement released by AFC on Saturday night confirmed the exact nature of Blyth's injuries, and said: “It has been confirmed that Jacob suffered a dislocated shoulder after colliding with an advertising board and then a perimeter wall in the early stages of the game. His shoulder has been put back into place and is recovering well.

“He has also had scans on his head in line with head injury protocols and they have come up all clear which is fantastic news. More good news is that whilst it was initially feared that he had also suffered a broken arm, no fractures were reported on his arm x-rays.

“Further scans on his wrist look okay, but he will be having another scan next week.

“We would like to thank both those who assisted at the game, and the fantastic staff at Furness General Hospital for their help.”