Brainerd football player hospitalized for brain injury

The Brainerd community is rallying around one of its own after officials say a high school football player suffered a brain injury during a game.

BRAINERD, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Brainerd community is rallying around one of its own after officials say a high school football player suffered a brain injury during a game.

According to Brainerd Public Schools, senior Conner Erickson, a captain on the football team, is receiving care at Sanford Health in Fargo after being taken to the hospital after a game last Friday in Moorhead.

In a statement on CaringBridge set up for Conner, his family says there isn't one single play or hit they can identify for the injury.

"At some point, the layer between the brain and skull, ‘the dura’, began to ooze blood," a post reads. "To relieve pressure on the brain, Conner had a piece of skull (about the size of your hand) removed from the left side of his head in a three-hours-long surgery Friday night into Saturday morning."

Conner Erickson and his family (Family photo / Supplied)

As of Sunday, Conner remained sedated and the family was waiting for the swelling to go down.

"As you can imagine, Conner’s coaches, teammates, and friends have all been impacted by this event," the statement from the district reads. "We are a small, close-knit community, and when one of us hurts, we all hurt. Our Warrior Community will be focusing our efforts on supporting Conner and his family."

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Conner and his family. Already, 52,000 has been raised, as of Monday afternoon.