Inih Effiong collapse really scary says Ben Strevens

Dagenham & Redbridge boss Ben Strevens admitted it was ‘really scary’ to see Inih Effiong collapse after their game at Maidenhead last weekend.

The 32-year-old striker needed treatment on the field after his side’s 1-0 defeat at York Road, before being taken to hospital, where he was kept in overnight.

But after a series of tests, he was released the following day to the relief of family, friends and teammates.

“It was scary for all of us, I’m sure it was scary for all the fans, the Maidenhead fans as well,” Strevens told the club website.

“B [Bryony Woolley] and all the staff from Maidenhead were unbelievable, they reacted to it and how quickly they got to see Inih.

“It was good news he was allowed out of hospital on Sunday, he’s still got to have further tests because of the nature of what happened.

“But once we know more news on those tests and speak to him about it, it’s not going to be a quick process in terms of the people he needs to see, once we know more we will try and give an update on it.

“It was important for us to not come straight out and talk about it because we didn’t know all the facts until I spoke to Inih and his fiance on it.

“Soon as we have those updates we’ll let everyone know as soon as possible.”

Strevens revealed he had been in contact with Effiong in the days following the worrying incident, having felt ‘helpless’ at the time on Saturday evening.

And he is hoping his player can make a good recovery, first and foremost for himself and his family.

“I shared a message with him on Sunday and the club were straight in contact and his fiance went up there and see Bryony,” added Strevens.

“And Kev Lokko, from Maidenhead, being Inih’s friend and knowing him from Dover, going in and helping was amazing.

“He’s a little bit shook up by what’s happened, as you would imagine.

“He wasn’t 100 per cent himself, he definitely wasn’t, but the main thing was I was able to talk to him [on Monday] – just chat to him on the phone.

“It was a really scary moment for all of us after the game and being honest, I just felt helpless, just standing there, wanting to help, but not being able to do anything.

“We’re just hopeful now, the incident happened and we’re just hoping for his recovery now for himself and that leads into him helping us, but right now we’re just focusing on him recovering for himself and his family.”