A GLAMOUR friendly between Tranent Juniors and Hibernian FC was called off following a serious injury to Belters midfielder Ben Miller.

The Hibees XI were leading 2-0 at Foresters Park on Tuesday evening with five minutes left when Ben was badly hurt in a challenge with visiting defender Kos Sadiki.

The referee abandoned the tie, with Ben from Tranent, taken to hospital for a scan which revealed he had damaged tendons in his ankle, following suggestions that he had broken his leg.

Ben spoke to the Courier about the injury and said his ankle had gone into “a weird position” after the tackle.

He added: “I got pins and needles into my knee and I tried to stand up because I had got a fright.

“I thought it was broken and stood up but could not put any weight on it and just fell to the floor. That is when the pain went straight up my leg.

“There were about five minutes left and they were going to take me off. I could not stand up because of the pain shooting up my leg and they brought on the stretcher.

“The referee then decided to call it a day.”

However, that was just the start of an eventful night for Ben who said: “They tried to phone an ambulance but since my leg was not bleeding and the bone was not sticking out of my leg they could not send one. I went up to the hospital in my manager’s [Calvin Shand] van because it’s easier to get in and out of a van than a car.”

The 24-year-old midfielder had an x-ray on his right ankle at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh before being allowed to go home at 1.30am yesterday (Wednesday).

He was pleased to say there was no fracture or ligament damage and he was likely to spend just over a month on the sidelines.

The joiner is currently on crutches and taking antibiotics and has taken the rest of the week off due to the injury.

Jamie Gullan, who spent time on loan with Raith Rovers last term, scored twice for the Hibs side in East Lothian.

Ben, who played for the Easter Road side from under-12 to under-14 level, said: “Hibs are full-time and they are really good, fit young boys. We were doing well but we could not really test the goalkeeper as much as we wanted to do. They have got fresh legs and they scored two goals but we never really tested the goalkeeper as much as we wanted.”

Tranent boss Calvin Shand was pleased it was not as serious an injury as first feared.

He said: “I think, at the time, we feared the worst. It looked a sore one and with him getting taken to hospital it was feared it could be long term.

“But, it is not broken, which is a good thing and we will need to reassess it in a couple of days when the swelling goes down.

“I’m really disappointed for Ben, who has come back off holiday, back to fitness and had a good run of form.

“He is a massive player for us and we are disappointed for us as a club but more for Ben as a player.”