Soccer fans knocked me out - Powell

Wales international Andy Powell claims he was knocked unconscious in a bar room brawl with football supporters that left him requiring hospital treatment.

The Metropolitan Police's violent crimes unit are investigating the incident, which occurred on Monday night in the Walkabout Pub on Shepherds Bush Green. Powell, who required "at least 10 stitches" in a head wound, and his Wasps team-mate Tim Payne have both been suspended by the club pending an internal investigation into the incident.

Powell told the Daily Telegraph "it all kicked off" after "a bit of banter" with some Queens Park Rangers supporters, saying: "I was knocked to the ground by a gang who then started to kick and punch me."

He added: "It was pretty scary. I curled up into a ball and put my hands over my face and temples but couldn't cover the back of my head.

"I was then hit by a bar stool and lost consciousness after that but I suffered a pretty bad cut. There was blood everywhere.

"I think I lost around two pints of blood in the pub and was taken away in an wheelchair and then taken by ambulance to a hospital where they stitched me up.

"I needed at least 10 stitches but I am OK now. I am feeling sore all over, but it was just one of those things."

Powell said he does not want to press charges.

The police investigation is on-going. There have been no arrests.