Former footballer Joey Barton has been charged with GBH after an alleged assault near a golf course.

The 43-year-old is one of two men charged following reports of an assault in Huyton, Merseyside, on Sunday.

The former Man City and Newcastle midfielder is accused of wounding with intent, along with a second man, Gary O’Grady.

Paramedics were called at around 9pm on Sunday after a man suffered serious injuries to his face and body near Huyton and Prescot Golf Club.

He is in a serious but stable condition in hospital, police said.

At a High Court hearing on Tuesday over a libel claim involving Barton, Gervase de Wilde, representing ex-England footballer Eni Aluko, said his instructing solicitor had “received a call from a duty solicitor in a police station in Liverpool” shortly before the hearing.

Mr de Wilde told the court that Barton, a former Manchester City midfielder and Bristol Rovers manager, “was arrested yesterday and is currently being held in custody”.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: “We can confirm that two people have been arrested following reports of an assault in Huyton on Sunday 8 March.

“At around 9pm, emergency services were called to Fairway to reports of a man having been assaulted near to Huyton and Prescot Golf Club.

“The victim was taken to hospital for assessment of injuries to his face and ribs.”

Barton, from Widnes, Cheshire, and O’Grady, 50, of Huyton, Merseyside, are due to appear at Wirral Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday afternoon.