World of football in support of 'seriously injured' Clarke Carlisle

Clarke Carlisle finished his playing career at Northampton Town Credit: PA

The world of football pledged its support and best wishes to former Northampton Town player and Professional Footballers' Association chairman Clarke Carlisle following reports he had been seriously injured in a collision with a lorry on Monday.

North Yorkshire Police said a 35-year-old man was airlifted to hospital after a serious incident involving a lorry and a pedestrian on the A64, near York, on Monday morning.

The force would not confirm the injured man's identity, but on Monday nightsocial media was full of messages from well-wishers hoping Carlisle, 35, makes a quick recovery.

Police have appealed for witnesses to the collision on the A64 near the village of Bishopthorpe, at 7.30am on Monday.

Part of the road was closed for a number of hours while investigations tookplace.

Carlisle played as a centre-half for a number of clubs including Burnley,Blackpool, QPR, Leeds, Watford, Northampton and York.

After he stopped playing, he worked for the PFA and was also a regular on TV - both as a pundit but also as a contestant on the long-running Channel 4 quiz show Countdown and a guest on the BBC's Question Time.

He has also presented a TV documentary about racism in the game and another - Football's Suicide Secret - about mental health issues among his fellow professionals.

Many of Carlisle's former clubs tweeted their support, including Burnley, where he won promotion to the Premier League in 2009, and Northampton Town, where he finished his playing career.