Euro 2020 qualifiers: 'I had blood streaming from my ears' - Moore reveals skull fracture

Kieffer Moore scored after 15 seconds against Gillingham in February and suffered the head injury in the 90th minute

Kieffer Moore has revealed that he could have been forced to retire after fracturing his skull playing for Barnsley earlier this year.

The striker is with Wales in Azerbaijan for Saturday's Euro 2020 qualifier, months after the "horrendous" injury.

The 6ft 5in 27-year-old says his temporal bone was fractured in the airborne collision at Gillingham in League One, back in February.

"I had blood streaming out of my ears. It was quite graphic," said Moore.

"I didn't have an operation, but I had a CT scan and multiple other scans and they determined the outcome."

'I wasn't in a good way'

That outcome meant Moore was able to resume playing before the end of the 2018-19 season, unlike Hull and England midfielder Ryan Mason, whose career ended in similar circumstances in 2018.

"At the time I didn't remember much," added Moore. "But as the weeks went on I started remembering it all again.

"The defender headed the side of my head, I fractured my temporal bone and had a really nasty concussion.

"I wasn't in a good way. My agent was there and he was ringing my mum and girlfriend - and they weren't best pleased."

He moved to Wigan in August as his rise from working as a lifeguard while playing non-league football to prominence continued.

• Kieffer Moore's journey from lifeguard to Wales striker

Moore's Wales debut followed, in a September friendly against Belarus and he scored on his competitive debut as Ryan Giggs' side drew 1-1 in a Euro qualifier against Slovakia.

Baku-bound

"I believe that moment has put a lot of things into perspective for me," said Moore. "How l live my life and what I want from my career as a footballer.

"There was talk about retiring, but I made a very good recovery and now I'm here.

"I still have to go up for headers and, if I believed I couldn't do that anymore, I would walk out of the game.

"If the ball is there to be won then I'm going to try and win it, and give everything for the cause like I've done the whole of my career."

Moore hopes to help Wales earn six points from the game in Baku against Azerbaijan and the match that follows in Cardiff on Tuesday against Hungary as they seek a place at next summer's Euro finals.

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He will do so knowing his career path has been unorthodox.

"When you look back on it, it's mental how my life has changed in such a short space of time," said Moore. "But I know what I can do and I've done it on big stages.

"It was all about proving myself to even get on the pitch, and then once I was there I knew that it would shine through.

"Qualifying for the Euros would be a massive achievement and honour, not just for me but the whole nation. It would be unbelievable."