Newcastle winger Peter Lovenkrands was accidentally elbowed in the ribs by Chelsea's Florent Malouda on Saturday and immediately experienced problems with his breathing. He was taken to hospital for tests but manager Alan Shearer later assured fans that he was in a stable condition.

"After the clash it was worse and harder to catch my breath," the 29-year-old told BT.

"When I was on the stretcher, I couldn't breathe. I got desperate to get air in and felt pain in my body.

"I couldn't feel my fingers or my arms and I began to get desperate in an attempt to breathe.

"My wife came up to me when I woke up again. We were obviously both very sad and incredibly afraid of what was about to happen to me.

"It was hugely embarrassing for her to see me that way."

According to doctors, the Danish international already had an infection in the body which is believed to have caused the breathing problems.