I have been asked by the Newson family to make and announcement as to the condition of Matt . On thursday the 28th i called in to the hospital thinking that it had been a few days and i would have a bit of a natter and hopefully cheer him up ect, i was taken to the intensive care unit and buzzed in after identifying myself then taken to an area that had to be UNZIPPED to allow me entry and there i saw Matt and his mum.

Matt is in a really shocking state and very poorly, i am told by Bugs that the doctors are saying it is Pneumonia with chest infection complications , he did open his eyes and seemed to recognise me but was unable to talk as he has a pipe through his tracia (adams apple ) he is being fed through another tube and his blood is being taken airated and given back to him as his lungs are so badly infected \ damaged obviously he is also on sever medication which means he is only semi-conscious.

i'm lead to believe from the Newson family this is not going to be a quick process and could take weeks / months before he can be transferred to Norwich?

I have not really seen anyone this poorly before and to see two members of hospital staff constantly monitoring and treating him and dealing solely with him i hope conveys the seriousness of the situation.

things must happen for a reason and Matt came to Leicester to be at the FIGHT NIGHT , he was unable to fight as he had been unwell with a bad back and pain in his legs added to a bad chest infection (flu) i am sure he also wanted people to know he wasn't "chickening out" and really wasn't well enough to fight , during the night he was taken ill and hospitalised , and then transferred to a specialist hospital where he is receiving very intensive care , had he not been in Leicester things could be very different!

i'm sure like me you are shocked that one of US is in trouble i am hoping that some people would like to help in some way , of course there is very little we can actually do for Matt , we have to leave that to the experts but as for Bugs and Anita they are also suffering with travel costs , accommodation costs and not working full time over the next few weeks this will all become a problem . with this in mind we are starting a gifting page to try and help them stay close to the hospital and not have to worry about money, it does not have to be a lot every donation will be gratefully received , lets show are appreciation of all that Matt and his family have done for our fantastic sport .

It also has to be said that we must respect the privacy of the Newsons while they navigate through this very difficult time , to quote Bugs " i don't want a 1000 stock car fans turning up at the hospital" so please give them some room and in time more news will be made available , but for the time being lets all help the only way we can FINANCIALLY AND WITH A FEW PRAYERS .

Mark Randell team 172