Former Championship star hailed for saving player's life after sickening collision with ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius

A former Championship star helped save a player's life after he reportedly swallowed his tongue in a sickening collision.

Nikola Katic, who played for Plymouth last season and lost a tooth in their gutsy 1-0 win over Liverpool, helped save striker Joel Grodowski in a 2. Bundesliga match. 

The Arminia Bielefeld forward had been knocked out after a collision with Schalke goalkeeper Loris Karius.

Schalke defender Katic placed Grodowski in the recovery position as they waited for medical staff to attend to him.

Katic then got up to comfort Karius, whose punch had knocked out the attacker as they competed for a cross. 

Grodowski fortunately regained consciousness and was extremely grateful to Katic, embracing him before he left the field. 

'When I saw Grodowski lying on the ground I rushed to his side straight away,' said Katic, 28.

'It was a natural reaction for me. Even though we all want to win, health comes above all else.

'There are more important things in life than football.

'I had my back turned when the incident happened. But I was involved in a similar situation in our game against Hertha Berlin.'

The incident he refers to there is that on his debut for Schalke, Katic was accidentally kicked in the head by a team-mate, and started bleeding from the ear, but returned to action that same match after treatment - only to go and get a red card. No matter: his goal had won them the game 2-1. 

Schalke boss Miron Muslic, who also left Plymouth in the summer, said: 'Nikola reacted very well after the collision. He recognised the problem straight away.

'I hope Joel Grodowski feels better very soon.'

Bielefeld manager Mitch Kniat added: 'Joel wanted to play on, but we could tell that he had to come off.

'We want to take zero risks, and the doctors said straight away that he had to leave the field.'

Schalke sit second in the German second tier, with former Liverpool goalkeeper Karius playing every game so far. 

Katic has also been an important player, featuring in every game he has been available for. 

The Bosnian is a former Rangers star and won the Scottish Premiership under Steven Gerrard in 2020-21.