A GWENT man was left  “in agony” after he dislocated his knee during a football match.

Ricky Douglas, 31, from Caldicot, a defender for Sudbrook Cricket Club FC, was playing in a match at the club’s ground at Mill Lane on Saturday.

A first responder arrived an hour after the injury happened and an ambluance crew were on the scene after two hours.

He said: “Four minutes in I kicked the ball with my left foot and when I tried to turn my studs my right foot got caught in the turf and my knee went the other way.

“It was strange, it felt like a pop and then I collapsed. I couldn’t put any weight on it – it was a sharp pain, it was obvious by the shape of my knee that something wasn’t right.

“At first I was in agony, it eased off then – I think the shock kicked in. People gave me their jackets to keep warm as it was quite cold on the ground, the first responder found it hard to find a vein for the morphine at first because my hand was so cold.”

He added: “He was phoning his base every 10 minutes, he was doing his hardest to get the ambulance quicker.

“I was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital where they corrected my knee.”

Nick Smith, head of service for Aneurin Bevan Health Board area, said: ““At the time of this incident, the service was dealing with a large number of calls but we are concerned there was a delay in the response to this call and invite the patient to contact us directly if they wish to discuss the case in more detail.

“We are working hard as an organisation to ensure we maintain a safe and effective service.”