Niall McGuinness has condemned the sickening tackle which left new signing Tom Dix with a double leg break as 'horrendous'.

The newly-signed Flint midfielder was left stricken on the ground following a two-footed challenge from a Brymbo player in a pre-season friendly.

The incident, which occurred after just seven minutes of play, resulted in the game being abandoned as physios and club staff attended to the injured player while an ambulance was called to the scene.

Reflecting on the incident, McGuinness said: "It's the worst tackle I've ever seen in the game and it's made even worse when it happens to one of your own players.

"We know now that it's a double tib and fib break, which is a horrific injury now and Tom's going to need a lot of rehabilitation to assist his recovery.

"My thoughts are with Dixie and his family. Myself and everyone at the club will be doing everything we can to support his family.

"All of us fully support Tom in his recovery and hope that he can resume his playing career after his rehab."

One of the summer's most impressive signings, former Llandudno skipper Dix joined the Silkmen last month and was making his debut for the club.

McGuinness admits that the 27-year-old looks set to miss out on the entire season ahead and that his absence will be keenly-felt.

"We were delighted to be able to bring Tom into the club just a few weeks ago" he added.

"He's a big signing for this club - a quality player and a natural leader and we were hoping that he would play a huge part for us in central midfield next season.

"Losing him like this is a huge blow and we may now have to look at strengthening the squad in that position if we're going to be without him long-term."

Clubs and players from across the region have sent goodwill messages to Dix via social media after hearing the devastating news.

Brymbo chairman Tony Birch was among them, tweeting: "On behalf of everyone at our club, we wish Tom Dix of Flint Town FC all the best and a speedy recovery from a horrendous injury in our game today."