British fighter in hospital after brawl with burglars

Anthony Crolla's world title hopes lie in tatters after he was badly hurt when giving chase to a pair of burglars in Manchester.

The lightweight fighter attempted to foil a raid on a neighbour's property in his home town, but was struck in the head by a piece of concrete. Crolla was badly bloodied in the confrontation, and also suffered a broken ankle but was able to return home and raise the alarm. He was taken to hospital where he remains in a stable condition and awaiting the results of a brain scan, according to the Manchester Evening News. The 28-year-old, who won his last fight in Dublin last month, was scheduled to face Richar Abril for the WBA belt in Manchester on January 23, but that fight has had to be abandoned. Trainer Joe Gallagher said: 'I’ve just spoken to him on the phone and he’s heart-broken. He’s all plastered-up and waiting for a CT scan. His title dream is gone. Whether he will ever get another shot at it in the future, I don’t know. His dreams are in tatters.' However, Gallagher was also thankful his charge did not suffer even more serious injuries, adding: 'He’s seen people climbing over a fence from next door and he’s given chase. He’s managed to get hold of one of the two but the other has picked up a brick or a concrete slab and attacked him. He could have been killed.' Fellow Mancunian Ricky Hatton took to Twitter to describe his feelings towards Crolla's attackers.

Burglars beat @ant_crolla up,after he worked so hard to get his world title shot,has severe head injuries & a broken ankle.scumbags. — Ricky Hatton MBE (@HitmanHatton) December 16, 2014