George Bello cleared from hospital after head injury; says injury not “as bad as feared”

George Bello was cleared to return home after being checked out at a local hospital Saturday following his head injury during Atlanta United’s match with Birmingham Legion.

A source with knowledge of the situation told Dirty South Soccer that Bello was “very alert” by the time he was returning to Atlanta Saturday night.

Bello collided heads with a Birmingham player while defending a set piece in the 70th minute of the match. Bello laid relatively motionless for minutes before being stretchered off the field and rushed to a local hospital. The club stated during the game that he had suffered a head injury.

Bello will continue to be evaluated over the coming weeks, according to a club spokesperson.

The 18-year-old Bello has missed large portions of the last two seasons with groin injuries. A re-aggravation in Atlanta United’s first competitive match of the season a year ago forced him to miss all of Atlanta United’s first team matches in 2019. He played in 11 matches for Atlanta United 2 following his recovery last season, returning to action on August 3.

UPDATE: Bello posted an update to his Twitter account on Monday afternoon, thanking fans for their support and stating that the injury wasn’t as serious as once thought.