SAFC fan, 13, suffers broken arm and spends night in hospital after being hit by ball during win at Stadium of Light
Eight minutes into Sunderland's 2-1 victory over Portsmouth on August 17, Pompey midfielder Ben Close tried to score.
But the free kick soared over the crossbar and directly at Jonathan Crooks in the North Stand.
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Hide AdIt left him with a broken radius, the bone on the thumb side of the forearm, and he had to spend a night in hospital.
The break left the all-round sportsman, who plays for his school football team and for Hylton Cricket Club as a spin bowler, distraught, but to lift his spirits SAFC have invited him to see a match at the Stadium of Light as a special guest of the club.
At first the Castle View pupil said he was just pleased it wasn't a goal, but he soon found himself in pain.
He said: "I thought ‘I’m going to get hit in the face unless I punch it away'. It hit my arm. I went to the first aid room. They took my details and rang my mam. My dad came down for me during the second half.
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Hide Ad"I went to hospital and waited in there for a couple of hours. I ended up spending Sunday night there."
Jonathan's mum Anita said: "It was a clean break. They tried to manipulate it back into place, but had to put a cast on. They’ll look again and if the bones have moved they’ll have to put a metal plate in."
A club spokesperson said: “We attended to Jonathan on Saturday and followed up with a welfare call to his family on Monday, to check how he was.
"We know Jonathan is a keen sportsman, so missing out on his favourite sporting activities will be tough for him.
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Hide Ad"To help cheer him up we've extended an invitation to him to come to a game as a special guest of the club, when he is feeling well enough of course, and we look forward to seeing him and his family.”