Two goals and a baby: Wigan player rushes from match to birth of his son

A professional footballer who was on the pitch when he was told that his wife’s waters had broken had time to score a goal before rushing to the hospital to be at the birth.

Ryan Colclough ran off down the tunnel shortly after scoring his second goal in Wigan Athletic’s 3-0 victory over Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday night. He made it to the hospital, still in full kit, 30 minutes before his wife gave birth to a boy, completing a unique hat-trick for the winger.

“Just before I scored, I see my Dad over in the stands and he gave me the action like ‘the waters had broken’ so my head was a little bit battered,” he told BBC Radio Manchester on Wednesday.

“And then I went and scored and then I just looked at the manager and he said: ‘We’ll bring you off now,’ and I was straight down the tunnel and grabbed my keys and my phone.”