Medical staff forced to put up covers after Europa League star suffers horrific head injury

Medical staff working at a Europa League clash on Thursday were forced to put up covers to protect the privacy of a player who appeared to suffer a horror head injury in the first half.

The Europa League returned on Thursday night with several teams across the continent facing off in the third matchday.

Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax were amongst the clubs in action as they looked to further secure their place in the top half of the table.

However, the biggest moment of the evening came when medical staff were forced to attend to one star after he appeared to suffer a brutal injury in the first half.

During the match between Nice Nice and Hungarian giants Ferencvaros, Sofiane Diop suffered a head injury after clashing with one of his teammate in the first half.

Immediately fans began to worry for the condition of both men after Ferencvaros defenders urged medics to quickly attend to the duo on the pitch.

Screens were placed around Diop to give him privacy as the medics treated him and silence fell across the stadium.

However, after several minutes of treatment, Diop amazingly emerged from behind the covers without any serious injury.

Strapped up with a bloodied bandage covering his head, Diop was able to continue and stayed on the pitch until half-time, when he was replaced by teammate Jeremie Boga.

Unfortunately for Nice, they were unable to turn around the one goal deficit established after Canadian defender Moïse Bombito scored a own goal in the 15th minute.

Jeremie Boga has 36 appearances for Nice. (Image: Getty)

And things only got worse for the French side as they appeared to implode in the closing moments of the match, culminating in midfielder Pablo Rosario being shown a red card in the 84th minute.

"Today was a very, very bad evening. We need to be a little more efficient. We need to raise our level," admitted Nice full-back Ali Abdi after the game on French outlet Canal.

The result leaves Nice winless in the European competition, sitting with just one point, placing them 32nd out of 36 teams.

They therefore face a likely insurmountable task if they hope to qualify for the round of 16.