David March played on for 20 minutes with a broken rib

York City Knights loose forward David March hopes to be playing again in less than a month.

The 28-year-old was taken to hospital following Sunday's game against Barrow after he collapsed on the pitch.

March has damaged his ribs and spleen but he told BBC Radio York the injury was not as bad as first feared.

He said: "I'm on the mend now. I'm still on painkillers so it's still sore. I'm hoping to be back in the next three weeks."

He added: "I'm a bit relieved that it's not as serious as everybody first made out."

March took what he described as a "hefty knock" to his ribs with around 20 minutes of the game remaining, and the blow affected his breathing .

I had a little bit of a panic attack after the game and collapsed. The next thing I knew the medical team was around me David March

"I had a little bit of a panic attack after the game which stopped me breathing faster and I collapsed to the floor and started being sick. The next thing I knew, the medical team was around me.

"We've got a great medical team here and the ambulance service was great as well."

Meanwhile, March has been found not guilty of a dangerous tackle in the game against Keighley a fortnight ago.

Despite his injury, he attended the disciplinary hearing at the Rugby Football League headquarters.

"I wanted to go just to clear my name really. I didn't want them to ban me without me being there so I went along and - good news - I didn't get banned," he said.

However a decision on the charge against Paul March of using foul and abusive language to the reserve referee in the same game has been deferred to a later date.