© Reuters Limited 2001

MOSCOW, Aug 20 (Reuters) - CSKA Moscow goalkeeper Serhiy Perkhun was in a serious but stable condition in a Moscow hospital on Monday after a clash of heads in a Russian premier division match at the weekend. "We're all praying for his recovery," CSKA spokesman Sergei Aksyonov told Reuters on Monday.

The Ukraine international suffered serious injuries after he clashed heads with Anji Makhachkala striker Budun Budunov in the second half of the match, which ended 0-0. "He was taken to an emergency ward in a Makhachkala hospital with swelling of the brain," Anji coach Alexander Markarov was quoted as saying by the Sport-Express newspaper on Monday. The newspaper also quoted local doctors as saying that they gave Perkhun only a five percent chance of survival after he lost consciousness on the way to hospital.

Aksyonov said that 23-year-old Perkhun was transferred to a special Moscow military hospital on Sunday where the doctors were trying to stabilise his condition. Budunov was treated for concussion but later released.

It was a grim weekend for Russian football as Sovietsky Sport newspaper reported that two people died on Saturday in Voronezh during a premier division match between Spartak Moscow and local side Fakel.

The tragedy occurred during a halftime show when a motorcyclist crashed at full speed into spectators, killing two and injuring several others.