A TEENAGE rugby player has been left quadriplegic after suffering a neck injury during the first game of the season.

Connor Hughes, 19, a second-year accounts and business student at Stirling University, was injured while playing outside centre for the university against Harris Academy FP XV in Dundee.

He sustained an injury to his C5-C6 vertebrae - two of the seven cervical vertebrae in the neck -damaging his spinal cord, leaving him with no sensation from his shoulders down.

The former private schoolboy, originally from Selkirk, is still in the spinal unit in Glasgow's Southern General Hospital, where he had life-saving surgery.

His mother and three sisters paid tribute to Connor on a webpage set up to raise funds so he can go to America for specialist treatment.

They said: "Being the youngest in the family, we refer to him as 'The Boy'. Anyone who knows Connor knows that he is always good-natured and injects a little bit of magic into everyday life with his enthusiasm and rituals.

"We have always spent a lot of time together as a family. Connor makes sure we have challenges to do, he manages to make us all do the plank as often as possible followed by a good game of Scrabble.

"Life is always punctuated by the sound of a song when Connor is around.

"Connor's accident has put obstacles in his journey, but that boy is still very much with us. We have to thank all the medical staff involved in his care; they all worked so hard to keep him with us and gave him the best possible chance."

After the initial treatment on the field at the game in September and at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, Connor was transferred to hospital in Glasgow.

His family added: "He under-went intensive reconstructive surgery on his cervical vertebrae and started the long rehabilitation process.

"And so Connor starts on his new path and with your support, we know that he will leave his own incredible and inspirational trail."

Connor started playing rugby for Earlston in the Borders, then played for Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh, where he was on academic scholarship.

He originally studied sports science at Stirling, changing to accounts and business after "deciding he wanted to make enough money to set up and run his own gym and fitness centre".

His family said: "Connor has always known what he wants to achieve and had a very clear plan of the life he wants for himself."

David Stibbles, secretary of the Harris Academy FP Rugby Club, said Connor's injury had shocked everyone in the BT Caledonia league, in which the teams were playing. Mr Stibbles said: "We did everything we could to help him - our physio was on the scene and three of our players are trainee doctors - so he received what we and the Scottish Rugby Union consider the best of treatment."

Connor's family are fundraising in a bid to send him to the US to undergo rehabilitation at a centre known as Project Walk. On fundraising page Connor's Journey they have raised half of their £25,000 target in less than a week.