A RUGBY player from Chatteris is recovering in hospital after suffering a suspected heart attack in a game at the weekend.

Allan Turpie, a hooker who plays for Ely Tigers, had to be resuscitated on the pitch after collapsing in a cup match at Great Shelford on Saturday.

Mr Turpie, a father of two, also stopped breathing and had to be given CPR on the pitch. He was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, in Cambridge, by air ambulance.

The match was abandoned following the incident.

Ely Tigers president Mark Mitzman said in a statement: “Allan had stopped breathing and had to be given CPR on the pitch by players and coaches of both sides until an ambulance arrived on the scene.

“Allan was eventually taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital where, because he was struggling to breathe by himself, they put him in to an induced coma and transferred him to Papworth Hospital where he was operated on.

“Allan is now awake and is talking and the doctors have confirmed that there is no permanent damage to his heart. It is hoped that Allan will be home by the middle to the end of the week.”

Mr Mitzman added that it was believed that he had suffered a blood clot, which has been successfully removed by teams at Papworth, a specialist heart hospital.

He said: “Our thoughts are with his family during this very difficult time, and we wish him a very speedy recovery.”