'I broke my leg in two places in a football game while wearing "fashionable" mini shin pads'
A teenage footballer from South Yorkshire has called on professional clubs to ban mini shin pads after he suffered a double leg break while wearing them.
Alfie Collins, aged 15, said stars like Manchester City ace Jack Grealish were ‘influencing’ kids to use the 'fashionable' leg protectors, which are no bigger than a ‘bank card’.
The young striker was blue-lighted to hospital after he broke his tibia and fibula while playing for his side Penistone Church FC on August 11.
His injuries mean he won't be able to line up for the team - based near Barnsley, South Yorkshire - until at least the new year.
The club has since banned their players from wearing the tiny three by nine centimetre shin pads.
And Alfie thinks premiership sides should follow suit. He said: “I think the most important thing would be for professional footballers to stop wearing them and to put bans in place in professional games.
“They are the most influential players, and they are the reason now why kids nowadays are wearing them.
"I’m not saying if I hadn’t worn them I would not have broken my leg, but they offer a lot less protection, so there would have been a slimmer chance of me breaking my leg if I’d had the proper ones on.
“It’s really important to take a step back and look at the potential outcomes of wearing these shin pads."
Alfie's dad Steve Collins, aged 48, said players like Grealish, who is often seen sporting the mini shin pads, had contributed to their popularity in the youth game.
He added: “The likes of Jack Grealish using them - they are essentially endorsing them, saying to the kids, ‘this is what I wear, why don’t you go and do the same?’
“You’ve seen him with his haircut and headband, and how easy it is to influence children to follow the superstars. He isn’t setting a very good example, I don’t think.”
Alfie was playing for Penistone Church FC’s under-16 team earlier this month when he suffered his painful injury in a ‘50-50’ challenge for the ball.
But Alfie remembered feeling a “fuzzing, numb pain” shooting through his body following the tackle - before his team and coach ran over to him.
Dad Steve, who works in the motor trade, said he had been watching from the sidelines and realised Alfie was in a bad way not long after he went down.
‘I knew it was something more serious’
He said: “The ball was up for grabs, and Alfie was on his feet, and the other guy ended up sliding, and they collided.
“There was no malicious intent in it, it was just one of those things, as far as the game was concerned. But unfortunately, Alfie came off a lot worse.
“I saw his coach get his phone out of his pocket. I thought, ‘This isn’t good, is it?’ I went over at that point.
“Some of the faces of the players around him weren’t great, so I knew it was something more serious than a normal five-second injury.”
FA guidelines state that shin pads, which are a requirement for games, should be “an appropriate size to provide reasonable protection and be covered by the socks.”
But a spokesperson from Penistone Church FC later confirmed that since Alfie's injury, they had decided to ban them altogether from their games.
Manchester City and Jack Grealish representatives have been contacted for comment.