THOUSANDS of pounds have been raised to support a rugby player who broke his neck during a match.

Pwllheli fly-half Mathew Parry, a scaffolder by trade, suffered the horr­ific injury earlier this month while playing against his former club, Bethesda.

The injury has led to an outpouring of support for the injured sports star, with Welsh Rugby Union president Dennis Gethin and former Welsh international scrum-half Rupert Moon both wishing Mathew a speedy recovery.­

Following the severe trauma, Mathew was rushed to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to fuse bones and insert a plate into the top of his spine.

Mathew has suffered serious damage, but his emergency operation was successful in saving his spinal cord.

However, the 33-year-old faces “a very long road to recovery”.

Mathew will not be able to work in the immediate future and has been told his rugby career is over.

In a bid to support the sportsman, a fundraiser has been established to help support his young family.

Well over £4,000 has already been donated but money continues to flood in.

The GoFundMe page was set up by Matt Parry, a friend of the family.

He said: “This fund seeks to raise some much-needed money to help Mathew and his young family cover the medical costs and day-to-day living expenses until he is back on his feet and able to earn an income again.

“Let’s get together and all dig deep to lessen the financial burden left on Mathew and his young family during this tough time.

“Please donate any amount, large or small, to Mathew, Lynne and the kids to help with ongoing bills and to make sure that financial burden isn’t something they have to think about during this extremely difficult and painful time.

“Thank you in advance to everyone for digging deep to help Mathew and his family during this challenging period in their lives.”

For more information, or to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/mathew-parry-family-support

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