Chapter 652: Another ’Accident’?!

"ARGH!"

Higo roared immediately as he felt sharp pain on his face. He didn’t know what happened, but the next thing he realized was that his body got slammed quite violently on the ground.

Everyone was so stunned for a moment, and the first to react was the referee. He blew the whistle immediately, stopping the game straight away before shouting, "Medic! Come here! Quick!"

That was when everyone realized what happened, and hell broke loose.

"What the fuck?! Who the hell is hitting Higo?!"

"Hey, it should be you, right?! Admit it, you rat bastard!"

"Why would you blame me for that?!"

Conflict broke out at the same time, as no one really knew who hit Higo in the air earlier. The chaotic situation there prevented anyone from putting their concentration fully on Higo, only letting them know that he was knocked out after the collision happened.

The referee himself didn’t see things clearly. However, he narrowed his eyes dangerously at Steffen Tigges, finding the striker to be way too suspicious for his own good.

’He is involved in another fifty-fifty situation again, and just like before, his team gets the ultimate advantage from the incident. Once or twice can be said to be a coincidence, but this has been the fifth time in this second half. I need to keep an eye on him.’

Little did the referee realize that his instinct was correct. Even though Steffen Tigges wasn’t the immediate culprit, he was the one who instigated it. The striker knew that Higo would pick up an easy ball close to his direction, so he tried to push the defensive line without truly beating the defender in front of him.

Then, once the ball was close enough to Higo, he jumped as well, pretending to fight for the ball. However, his aim was simple: to force Schalke’s defender, Timo Becker, to do the same, and once three players were in the air, it was easy to manipulate the crowd here. Just a little push, and Timo Becker lost his balance, getting his elbow hitting Higo’s head quite violently.

In that split second, Steffen Tigges completed a devious crime, using the opponent’s sword to kill the most troublesome player on the pitch. No blame could be put on his head as well, and once the referee paid attention to him, he just waved innocently, as if this had nothing to do with him.

A true crime master on the pitch, indeed.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Schalke players surrounded Higo, all worrying about him. No one truly complained to the referee, since they themselves didn’t know who the culprit was. Everything was so blurry, so instead of thinking about those messy things, it was more important to check on their guardian angel first.

"So? How is it?" Brackelmann asked.

"A long cut on his forehead, not too deep but still causing a lot of bleeding." The medical team answered solemnly. "How much is this?" He asked Higo while raising three fingers in the air.

"Three," Higo answered immediately.

After the disoriented feeling he had from the collision slowly subsided, his head was slowly getting back on track, allowing him to think clearly. The only thing that made him feel uncomfortable was the blood that was still dripping from his forehead.

The medical team checked once again, and in the end, he took a glance at the sideline where two goalkeepers had started to warm up and said, "We need to check further to make sure that everything is okay. Let’s end it now."

Somehow, this made Higo’s stubborn and stupid side emerge, as he shook his head quickly. "No, I don’t have any discomfort other than the bleeding. Can you make it stop?"

The two people from the medical team just looked at each other with a disapproving frown. Their professional ethic screamed, telling them to drag the boy out of the pitch as quickly as possible. However, they were also Schalke fans, and they knew that Higo being out after having such a wonderful performance would hurt the team more.

In the end, one of them finally gritted his teeth here, taking out something from his medical bag. "This is a hemostatic nail, something that can stop minor bleeding. However, this is not the best solution. Even if you continue to play, you will have to avoid any dangerous collision like that, and if we saw something wrong with you, you will not have any choice but to back down. Can you accept that?"

Higo didn’t even hesitate here, nodding solemnly. "Sure, just do it."

It was not like he didn’t care about himself, but now, with adrenaline rushing in and coupled with the crazy support behind him, there was no way Higo would accept being replaced like that. He remembered all of the chats and laughter he had with the people at Bosch, and thinking about them, somehow, a small thought popped into his head.

’At least, I cannot disappoint them!’

In the end, one of the medical team took out the hemostatic nail, which was similar to a stapler, picking up a soft leather to Higo’s bleeding forehead, and with three clicks, the stitching was completed instantly.

Then, after cleaning his forehead thoroughly, the man took a white gauze from his medical bag and wrapped it around Higo’s head. As for the other medical team, the man ran as quickly as possible to the bench to discuss it with the head coach, and after gaining Frohling’s approval, the man came back with a fresh jersey to replace the one Higo wore that had already been stained with his blood.

Once everything was over, Higo changed his jersey quickly, and after making sure that he was truly okay, the first thing he did was to turn around to the stand and roar, "COME ON!"

Everyone was so stunned by this display that they couldn’t react for a second. However, once that second passed, what followed was a passionate cheer from the stand, as hell really broke loose from all over the stadium.