By RACHEL SPENCER

A RUGBY fan was left with horrific facial injuries after he was elbowed in the face as he walked home from the Wolves v Leigh Centurions challenge cup match on Sunday.

The 38-year-old man and his 14-year-old son were walking past Fletcher Street on Wilderspool Causeway heading towards Stockton Heath when he was hit by the thug.

A gang of Leigh supporters were walking in the opposite direction on the same pavement and as they passed them, one of the men jumped up and elbowed the dad in the face, then disappeared back into the crowd.

The victim suffered a compressed and fractured cheekbone and a fractured eye socket. Experts at Warrington hospital are due to operate tomorrow.

Police want to speak to anyone who saw the attacker, particularly a good samaritan who stopped to help him after the vicious assault.

The offender is white, aged around 37, 5ft 8ins with black hair, wearing jeans and a blue jumper with a red and green stripe across the middle.

Anyone with information can contact Det Con Lesley Mills on 01244 613833 or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.