Grimsby Town have found themselves out of luck with goalkeepers, before the game against Carlisle the Mariners No. 1 Jordan Wright had injured his shoulder, and was replaced on the team sheet by Jake Eastwood.
11 minutes into the game Eastwood crashed into the goalposts while attempting to save Sam Lavalle’s header and had to be stretchered off. He was replaced by 17-year-old Seb Auten for the rest of the game.
The BBC reported that the keeper had suffered a ruptured patellar (kneecap) tendon which will require surgery and up to six months recovery.
Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside after the match Grimsby manager David Artell highlighted the design of the goalposts as the cause of the injury.
You can’t have such a sharp piece of metal sticking out right behind the posts.
“These goals are widely used but there’s obviously a design flaw because that can’t happen.
According to the BBC, the goalie had a ruptured patellar tendon, which means he will need surgery and possibly six months of recuperation.
After the game, Grimsby manager David Artell spoke with BBC Radio Humberside and attributed the injury to the goalpost design.
Such a pointed metal protrusion just behind the posts is not allowed.
“Although these objectives are frequently employed, there is undoubtedly a design defect as that is not possible.
The component in question is the hinge that allows the back of the net to be folded up and in many models, it sticks up vertically, Eastwood has landed square on it and severed the tendon. This is visible in footage of the match.
Unfortunately, this specific part of the goalpost is not standardised, so the design varies hugely depending on the manufacturer, with some styles being safer than others, a simple solution would be to bring a piece of foam and Velcro to the hinges or make them out of plastic so they break instead of them breaking the player.
It could be argued that the design violates Football Association Laws which state that the goalpost and crossbar must be made of approved material and must not be dangerous.
Ultimately manufacturers must improve the safety of their designs, and the British Standards need to consider these types of impact injuries in their testing of football equipment.
Due to both senior keepers being injured, Grimsby have brought in Jackson Smith from Barnsley on emergency loan and he made his debut in a 1-0 win against Gillingham.
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