Welsh rugby union star Andy Powell claims he was knocked unconscious in a bar room brawl with football supporters.

The Metropolitan Police's violent crimes unit are investigating the incident, which occurred in the Walkabout Pub in the Shepherds Bush Green area of west London on Monday.

Powell, who required "at least 10 stitches" in a head wound, and his Wasps teammate, England prop Tim Payne, have both been suspended by the club pending an internal investigation into the incident.

Wales international Powell said the fight started after some "banter" with some supporters of English Championship leaders QPR, who had been playing a home match against Derby at nearby Loftus Road that evening.

"I was knocked to the ground by a gang who then started to kick and punch me," Powell told the Daily Telegraph.

"It was pretty scary. I curled up into a ball and put my hands over my face and temples but couldn't cover the back of my head.

"I was then hit by a bar stool and lost consciousness after that but I suffered a pretty bad cut. There was blood everywhere.

"I think I lost around two pints of blood in the pub and was taken away in an wheelchair and then taken by ambulance to a hospital where they stitched me up.

"I needed at least 10 stitches but I am OK now. I am feeling sore all over, but it was just one of those things."

Powell said he does not want to press charges, while the police investigation is on-going and there have been no arrests.

Payne, 31, is a member of England's elite squad and could be selected for the World Cup in New Zealand later this year.

"We are aware of the incident but at the current time this is a matter for the players and their club and we are working with them to understand the facts of the situation," an RFU spokesman said.

Last year Powell was kicked out of Wales' Six Nations squad by coach Warren Gatland after being arrested for taking and driving away a golf buggy following a dramatic victory over Scotland.

Powell was arrested near a motorway junction close to Wales' training base in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The 29-year-old subsequently pleaded guilty at Cardiff Magistrates' Court to driving a mechanically-propelled vehicle while being unfit through drink. He received a 15-month driving ban and was also fined.

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