A PROMISING teenage footballer was badly injured when he tried to stop thieves stealing his sister's car.

England under-19 defender Chris Hogg underwent a four-hour operation on his left arm after he suffered cuts on a broken window at his parent's home on Boxing Day.

The Ipswich Town player was in bed at their home in Middlesbrough when he heard the thieves tampering with the car.

After finding the door locked, he banged on a glass panel in an attempt to scare off the thieves, but his hand and arm went through, damaging tendons, and opening an artery.

He was losing so much blood that his sister drove him to hospital, rather than wait for an ambulance.

He received "countless" stitches and was kept in hospital for a week, until Monday.

The 19-year-old said: ''There was blood everywhere and things weren't looking good. My family were really worried."

The thieves took wheel trims, worth £10.

Hogg will see the surgeon later this week to learn how his arm has reacted to surgery.

When he was signed from York City at 16, he was Ipswich's most expensive teenager. If he plays in the first team, it would trigger a £50,000 payment to his former club.