Kent batsman Darren Stevens rushed to hospital after getting struck on the head while batting

Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens was forced to retire hurt after he was hit on the back of his head during his team’s second innings against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. He was later taken to the hospital for further treatment, where he was declared to have suffered a concussion thereby ruling him out of the rest of the match.

Stevens, who was batting on 31 off 54 balls, suffered the blow when he tried to duck a short ball from his former Leicestershire teammate and England fast bowler, Harry Gurney, that split his helmet. Initially, he looked fine and continued to bat in spite of the blow. A few balls later, though, he was unable to see the pink ball properly and was taken off the field as a precautionary measure.

Later, it was revealed that Stevens was struggling with a headache, two hours after the incident had taken place. He was then rushed to the hospital where the initial prognosis suggested that he might be suffering from a concussion.

At the end of the day's play, Kent coach, Matt Walker spoke to reporters and confirmed that Stevens has suffered a concussion and won’t take any further part in the match. "Darren won't take any further part in the game. The early assessment suggests a concussion. He's struggling with a bit of vision in his left eye and he's got a raging headache, so we'll get him off to the hospital and get him checked out because he's not 100 percent at all," he said.

Extra cover: Notts vs Kent- Live score updates

Stevens wasn’t the only injury casualty from the match as Notts fast bowler Jake Ball injured his strapped knee and was sent for scans. This puts his chances of making it to the England squad for the first Test against South Africa in jeopardy.

After choosing to bat first, Kent were dismissed for 180 in their first innings with James Pattinson and Stevan Mullaney picking three wickets apiece. Daniel Bell-Drummond carried his bat for Kent and was left stranded on 84 when his team was dismissed in the 54th over. Mullaney starred for Nottinghamshire with the bat as his 168, along with Alex Hales' 85 propelled the side to 371 in their first innings.

Extra cover: 6 countries which contributed the most number of cricketers to the England national team

Looking to avoid an innings defeat, Kent began their second innings trailing by 191 runs and ended day 3 at 214/7 with a lead of 23 runs with just two wickets in hand. Stevens won't come out to bat while Sam Billings, who retired hurt without getting dismissed, will walk out to bat if needed.