A fundraiser for a Taunton Town footballer who suffered serious injuries during a match has smashed its initial £2,000 target.

Josh Owers, a new signing at Taunton Town FC, was representing the club in a Southern League Premier South fixture away at Dorset-based Wimborne Town on Saturday, November 9, when he was involved in an incident which left him with his jaw broken in two places and a bleed on the brain.

The match was stopped temporarily as he received treatment on the pitch and Josh was taken to hospital and was due to have an operation.

To save Josh from the stress of worrying about paying bills while he is recovering from the operation, football club manager Richard Luffman launched a Gofundme page to raise funds for him.

The initial target set was £2,000 and has since reached nearly £3,000.

On the Gofundme page, Richard Luffman said: “I speak on behalf of all the football family that when something bad happens to one of us, we look after them.

“Josh Owers my new signing at Taunton suffered a serious head injury in Saturdays game, breaking a jaw in two places and having a bleed on the brain.

“Because of this Josh isn’t able to work his hours at work due to having an operation.

“As a self-employed person we ‘the football family’ are trying to raise some money to take the stress of money away from Josh during his recovery.”