Forest Green: James Montgomery loses teeth in collision with Mansfield player's boot

Image source, Rex Features

Image caption, James Montgomery has made 20 appearances for Forest Green after joining them last summer

Goalkeepers are used to putting their bodies on the line to keep the ball out, but Forest Green Rovers' James Montgomery took that clich茅 to an extreme against Mansfield Town.

The 24-year-old lost some teeth in his side's 1-1 draw in League Two on Tuesday after being on the receiving end of a boot to his face.

"That'll interfere with his good looks for a while," Forest Green manager Mark Cooper said after the game.

"He's got a large facial wound, an horrendous cut on his lip and he's missing a few teeth.

"He'll need some work done and is off to hospital to get some treatment, so we'll see how he goes in terms of how long he'll be out of action."

Montgomery later from the treatment room before heading to hospital, joking that he would be setting up a fundraising page to pay for his replacement teeth.

The unfortunate collision came with Montgomery's side a goal behind midway through the second half at New Lawn when Mansfield loan signing Gethin Jones' right boot caught him in a goalmouth scramble.

Montgomery was forced off on 61 minutes with the injury, making way for Reading loanee Lewis Ward who now looks set for an extended spell as first choice.

Fortunately for Forest Green, the change had a positive effect as Reuben Reid netted an equaliser nine minutes later which put them fourth in the table, just two points outside the automatic promotion places.