A goalkeeper miraculously played on despite suffering a suspected broken neck after colliding with a teammate on Sunday.

Laura Wareham put her body on the line during Newcastle United Women’s FA Women’s Premier League North match against Bradford when attempting to stop an opposition striker from scoring.

She collided with defender Kate Brooks but played on for another six minutes before pain in her ribs left her unable to kick the ball.

After she was taken off, she collapsed off the pitch and then again in the dressing room at the end of the game.

After revealing to the physio that she had previously broken her neck while playing in goal, she was rushed to hospital in an ambulance.

An initial X-ray showed she had broken her neck between the first and second vertebrae at the base of the skull, but a subsequent CAT scan revealed no breaks.

She has now returned home to Jarrow and will see a neurologist next week to determine how bad the injury is.

“If it is just ligament damage I should be back in the new year,” Miss Wareham said yesterday.

“I played on and saved a shot and then got a sharp pain through my ribs and back and went off. I had no pain in my neck.”